Dominick Cruz says Henry Cejudo winning at UFC 288 would’ve been ‘catastrophic’ for the bantamweight division
Dominick Cruz is glad Henry Cejudo didn’t win at UFC 288.
Cejudo ended his three-year-long retirement to face Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 288. It was an intriguing matchup but unfortunately ‘Triple C’ came up short as he suffered a split decision loss which Cruz is happy with.
“We’re lucky that MMA didn’t get hit too hard by that, because I think that it would have been really catastrophic to have Henry there [as champion],” Cruz said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I 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.”
According to Dominick Cruz, he believes Henry Cejudo just retired so he could avoid fighting the top contenders year in and year out. He believes Cejudo dodged all the top contenders which is why he is happy Aljamain Sterling beat Cejudo on Saturday.
“This is what people dodge when they retire – they dodge the pressure, they dodge USADA coming in the house, they dodge the pool, they dodge the work, they dodge the heat, and I don’t respect that,” Cruz said. “Aldo never dodged the heat. He stayed in it. He’s still staying in it. I think that Henry would have dodged the heat, and it would have been hard for the bantamweight division.”
With Sterling remaining the champ, Cruz says the focus remains on getting a title fight with him. The former champion, however, will need to string together several wins in a row as he is coming off a KO loss to Marlon Vera to snap his two-fight win streak.
