Dominick Cruz complains about having to face Rivera: 'Who knows him?'

Cruz didn't want to face Rivera at UFC 219 (Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/UFCBrasil

Without fighting since December 2016, when he lost the belt to cody garbrandt, Dominick Cruz Last week, his return to the octagon was officially announced: he faces Jimmie rivera at UFC 219, December 30th. However, anyone who thinks that the former bantamweight champion was happy with the situation is mistaken.

Although he recognizes the qualities of his next opponent, Cruz, who admits that he hoped to return fighting for the title, complains about Rivera's lack of 'status', who, according to him, is unknown to the general public.

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“He (Rivera) can fight well, I never said he couldn’t. That was never the question, but rather, who knows Jimmie rivera? And who knows me, who knows Cody or TJ? I mean, I worked to get people to watch Cody and TJ, and nobody knows who it is Jimmie rivera. He had great fights, I don't mind fighting him. He's among the best in the division, there's nothing you don't know about this guy. I'm well prepared, I've fought a lot of guys his size and this is a job I enjoy. It may not be the best decision for the Dominick Cruz, but it is for UFC business”, he declared, in an interview with the program 'MMA Hour'.

Cruz also did not hide his dissatisfaction with Sean Shelby, UFC matchmaker and responsible for arranging the fights. With an ironic tone, the fighter states that Shelby is the great 'king' of the bantamweight division, since he is the one who decides the future of the athletes.

“It turns out I’m not the bantamweight king, nor the cody garbrandt. Sean Shelby that is and he makes the decisions of who fights who. He told me that if I didn't fight the Jimmie rivera, he would score Rivera x Assunção, and they would have a title fight, not me. They would end up giving me the loser of Cody x TJ as my opponent. So Sean Shelby is the decision maker, and I just listen. During my career, I never discussed decisions, I never said that this or that is not right. I don’t complain, I like fighting, I want to fight and this is the next step for me to compete for the title again”, he concluded.