Former two-time bantamweight kingpin, Dominick Cruz has lept to the protection of unbeaten challenger, Umar Nurmagomedov forward of his title cost at UFC 311 subsequent month, claiming the Russian is probably going solely within the place as fighters in his class preserve rejecting fights with him.
Nurmagomedov, the present quantity two ranked bantamweight contender, is about to co-headline UFC 311 subsequent month in Los Angeles, competing for Octagon spoils for the primary time in a championship grudge struggle towards Georgian star, Merab Dvalishvili.
Sidelined for the reason that summer time, Umar Nurmagomedov would most not too long ago enhance to 18-0 with a shutout unanimous determination win over former title challenger, Cory Sandhagen in the primary occasion of UFC Combat Evening Saudi Arabia.
Dominick Cruz defends Umar Nurmagomedov’s title cost at UFC 311
And for the reason that affirmation of Nurmagomedov’s title cost towards Dvalishvili, feedback have been rife concerning whether or not or not the previous deserves a shot on the crown, nevertheless, former champion, Cruz perceive why the Russian is positioned the place he’s proper now.
“They’re [Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov] the two best bantamweights in the world right now,” Dominick Cruz advised ESPN MMA. “Easily. You cannot… I know people want to try to trash Umar because of whatever the amount of fights he’s had. It’s not [his fault].”
“It’s matchmaking. It’s hard to matchmake guys… A lot of people don’t know him very well and you’re not getting paid a lot to fight a champion, essentially because now you’re going to fight a guy that’s not ranked, and you’re ranked number five right now,” Dominick Cruz continued. “You’re not going to get paid championship money, and that guy’s a champion. It’s like nobody wants to fight that guy,”
Trying to rack up his first profitable protection of the bantamweight crown, Dvalishvili has been out of motion since September, headlining Noche UFC on the Las Vegas Sphere in a one-sided unanimous judging win over former champion, Sean O’Malley.
