UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Vera claims former champ Dominick Cruz is ducking him, but Cruz has no idea why. He elaborated in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, explaining why he doesn’t say no to any fights at this stage of his career.
“I’m open to fighting him, yeah, but what I’m hearing now is… what’s funny is he’s talked all this trash about me from what I’m hearing, but I don’t really pay attention to calling me out.
Dominick Cruz Fires Back at Marlon Vera: “I don’t say no to fights!”
I’m sorry that people calling me doesn’t affect me. Like I said, I focus on dates. I don’t say no to fights. I don’t know where he’s getting this idea that I do. I say no to dates. Opponents don’t really matter, because you’re going to have to fight everybody to get to championship anyways.
So if he thinks I said no, I said no to dates, OK. That’s between him and his manager, whatever his manager is telling him is what he’s going to believe. I’m not opposed to that.”
Cruz continued: “What’s funny is I did hear him saying he wants somebody in the top-five or top-four, so why would he ask for those [opponents with those rankings] if it didn’t matter?
If moving up the ladder didn’t matter, then why would you ask for somebody above you, not underneath you in the division, like he’s done.
Well, it’s the same reason I have, the same reason the rest of us all have: We’re all fighting in the same bracket to be champion. So yeah, I’m not opposed to it. He’s ranked above me now, too. So sure. Let’s get the date.”
Dominick Cruz is not-so-quietly hoping to return to the Octagon for a pay-per-view event. He could feasibly headline one of the smaller UFC Apex events, but for the former champ, getting a sizeable payout and a piece of the pay-per-view action is no small consideration.
Marlon Vera might be foaming at the mouth, but Dominick Cruz is happy to fight anyone above him in the rankings. It could be the reigning champ, Aljamain Sterling, former champ Petr Yan, or anyone else with a single digit next to their name. For Dominick Cruz, in one of the fiercest, deepest divisions in the UFC, it’s all about facing elite competition.
Do you think Cruz should fight Marlon Vera? How would that affect the bantamweight title conversation? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hTVn1AID-s
