Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is happy that Henry Cejudo failed to regain the bantamweight strap.
On Saturday, past in the UFC 288 headliner in Newark, New Jersey, Cejudo returned to MMA and lost a closely contested split decision to Aljamain Sterling.
On May 10, 2020, at UFC 249, Cejudo stopped Cruz in the second round of their bantamweight title fight. Cruz was unhappy with the stoppage then, and it appears he may still have a bitter taste of what occurred in Jacksonville, Florida. The 37-year-old explained why having Sterling as the champion is better for the division.
Dominick Cruz on UFC 288 Headliner
“I think that it would’ve been really catastrophic to have Henry there compared to Sterling,” Cruz said Monday on “The MMA Hour.” “I just think Sterling is gonna be much better for the 135-pound division as champion. I just think he’s more active, shows himself as a champion that I’m proud to say he’s the champion at 135, the way he carries himself, the way that he fights, the way that he shows respect, stuff like that. So it’s cool to have him now. I’m glad he’s champion.”
Cruz is under the impression that Cejudo took a coward’s way out while the rest of the division competed, working their way to the top, while Cejudo retired after beating Cruz and returned three years later.
Cruz on Cejudo’s ‘Retirement’
“Anybody who comes and wins the title and retires when they’re in their prime is trying to dodge pressure,” Cruz said. “If we’re in a group of 50 people, and we’re all training, all of us MMA fighters, we’re all in one room training. Let’s just say it’s a training session, and Henry knocks somebody out in the middle of that training session, and then walks off the mat and lets us all train for the next three hours, and then he comes back after three hours and goes, ‘OK, I’ll give you guys a chance to complete with me today.’
“He just rested for three years. But we all kept working in the USADA testing pool, and while all these guys are staring at us, drooling ready to get that next spot. You know how much pressure that is? When I had three knee blowouts, a blown-out shoulder, busted hands, and I’m in the USADA testing pool, and I’ve got people calling me out every week, telling me that I need to get out there and compete. That’s a lot of pressure.”
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