Does Dominick Cruz still have it?
If Cruz (22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) didn’t have years stolen from his prime by injury after injury, he’d likely be name-checked at this point alongside the sport’s all-time great talents, the Demetrious Johnsons, Georges St-Pierres, and Jon Joneses of the world.
As is, Cruz’s record remains sterling as the man who bridged the bantamweight division from the WEC to the UFC, where he became a two-time champion, and to this day, he’s only lost once at 135 pounds.
Cruz is being gifted a title shot against Cejudo (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) on Saturday night based on his impressive resume. But he hasn’t fought since Dec. 30, 2016, where he lost in one-sided fashion to Cody Garbrandt, ending his second title reign.
That fight was the first time Cruz looked like something less than himself. That was more than three years ago. Cruz isn’t old by any means at 35, but he’s going to have a hell of a lot of ring rust, and he has a tall order in Cejudo, who is fighting as well as anyone in the sport these days.
Give Cruz this: He’s diving straight into the deep end, and has the opportunity to convincingly prove everyone wrong.
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