It’s been a tough last decade for the former UFC bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz (23-3). Back in 2011, Cruz was on top of the world as the bantamweight champion. He ended that year by defending his title against Demetrious Johnson.
However, after that win, it would be almost three years before Cruz would compete again in the UFC. A series of knee injuries kept the former champion out of action. During that time, the promotion and the division moved on.
Cruz came back and looked incredible against Takeya Mizugaki in 2014. However, it would be another year and a half before Cruz was to fight again. Between October 2011 and January 2016, Dominick Cruz fought one time.
In January of 2016, Cruz completed his comeback by defeating TJ Dillashaw to become UFC bantamweight champion once again. He then defended the title successfully against Urijah Faber. Cruz would go on to lose the title to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207.
After that loss, Cruz would remain out of action for three and a half years. Cruz returned last May to fight Henry Cejudo for the title at UFC 249. Cruz was finished in the second round and contemplated retirement.
However, he decided to give fighting another chance. He returned Saturday to take on Casey Kenney (16-3-1) at UFC 259. While it wasn’t the most high profile fight, it was a dangerous one. Cruz looked great in his return and was able to pickup the decision victory.
What’s next after UFC 259?
This past Saturday saw Dominick Cruz win for the first time since June of 2016. It was a massive win for Cruz and now The Dominator appears focused on another run at the UFC bantamweight title.
With the win, you should expect to see Cruz against someone in the top ten next. There are two fights that I would love to see for Dominick Cruz. The first fight is against Frankie Edgar (24-9-1).
Edgar is coming off of a brutal knockout loss to Cory Sandhagen. However, if Edgar would’ve won that fight, he would’ve been next in line for a title shot. The matchup between the two legends would be a lot of fun and it makes sense according to the UFC rankings.
Another fun matchup would be Cruz against Jose Aldo (29-7). Aldo is currently ranked near the top of the division and he’s coming off of a win against Chito Vera. This matchup of former champions is one that fans wanted to see years ago when Aldo dominated 145 and Cruz dominated 135.
I could easily see the UFC putting these two legends together in a fight next. Really, either of those options makes sense for Dominick Cruz. While we don’t know exactly what’s next, we know that Dominick Cruz is back.