Farah Hannoun: Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz
Although [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]’s choice of opponents has been quite questionable lately, it’s about time we see him back in action.
Minus the antics and the cringe, Cejudo has been on quite an incredible run, with wins over Demetrious Johnson, T.J. Dillashaw, and Marlon Moraes, as he captured UFC titles at both flyweight and bantamweight.
There are three top contenders in Aljamain Sterling, Cory Sandhagen and Petr Yan waiting for Cejudo at 135 pounds, but instead he went for bantamweight newcomer and former featherweight king Jose Aldo, who was edged by Moraes in his debut at 135 pounds.
After Aldo was forced out due to travel ban restrictions, Cejudo opted instead to face former champ [autotag]Dominick Cruz[/autotag], who’s also coming off a loss and hasn’t competed since 2016.
Is it the fight to make? No. But Cruz is widely regarded as the greatest bantamweight of all time and has shown that ring rust means nothing to him. It’s an intriguing stylistic matchup, given Cruz’s strong wrestling ability and evasiveness on the feet. There’s also quite the size difference between the pair, and it’ll be interesting to see how Cejudo deals with it.
It’s clear that Cejudo is chasing legacy and making the most of his opportunities to challenge the sport’s big names. It’s certainly not the matchup that needs to happen, especially for Cejudo’s first title defense, but Cejudo hasn’t competed since last June, and it’s about time he defends that title.
Next page – Mike Bohn: Nunes vs. Spencer