LAS VEGAS – Dominick Cruz isn’t concerned with who’s next. He just wants to move up the bantamweight ladder.
Cruz (24-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC), who put together his first winning streak since 2016, defeated Pedro Munhoz in a come-from-behind victory Saturday at UFC 269 from T-Mobile Arena.
The former two-time UFC bantamweight champion was called out by Marlon Vera following his win, but one name that people keep matching him up with is former featherweight king and bantamweight title challenger Jose Aldo (31-7 MMA, 13-6 UFC), who Cruz would be open to facing.
“I’m not going to say no to an Aldo fight just because that moves me closer to the title,” Cruz told reporters, including MMA Junkie, following the win. “Aldo’s a legend in the sport. I have nothing but respect for all these guys. So I’m trying to go … I’m going up towards the title and the champs. Saying that to, and I’m not going to say no to anything, what I’m going to do is be present instead of in the future where there’s absolutely no peace, and I would encourage everybody here to do the same. You have no control over the future. You have no control over the past. So I’m just going to stay right here on my win.
“One of the things that I remember from being a champion is after you win the belt and you come up with your title, media and everybody’s telling you everybody that’s going to beat you next or everybody that’s next, and it’s like, we never, as athletes, get to enjoy the present moment and media doesn’t allow it because everybody wants to move to the future. So I’m going to stop you right there and say, ‘I’m enjoying tonight, I’m going to have some shots of tequila with my people and my family who have suffered with me, and I won this for them, and f*ck the future right now.”
Cruz has only two losses on his UFC resume, both in championship fights against Cody Garbrandt and Henry Cejudo (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC). When asked which fight he’d rather run back, Cruz picked Cejudo, although the former dual champ is currently retired.
In the final fight of his career, Cejudo retained his bantamweight title with a second-round TKO of Cruz at UFC 249. Cruz protested referee Keith Peterson’s stoppage of the contest, where the fight was waived off with just two seconds remaining in the round.
“I’d definitely prefer to fight Cejudo again,” Cruz said. “That didn’t do well with me with the way that – like I said, one second (left) on the clock. I needed more time to get going. I don’t want to make excuses, it was in the pandemic, you had no training partners, I took that on short notice. He had a full camp for Aldo. I vied for that. I pushed for that fight. Aldo got shut out of the country because of the pandemic. He was supposed to have that fight, so they were training for 12 weeks, 10 weeks before that fight.
“I got like five weeks. I sparred, I think, 10 times before that fight after shoulder reconstructive surgery. Not an excuse, but I know I can show up better. How I showed up tonight, this version of me is with all the sparring rounds that I need me training the way I know I can and the way I know I need to, and that’s a different fight with him. Don’t get me wrong, the guy’s an Olympian. He knows how to fight. Still a little dork, though.”
To see the full interview with Cruz, check out the video above.
At peace after UFC 269, Dominick Cruz welcomes Jose Aldo, rematch with ‘little dork’ Henry Cejudo
