Dominick Cruz will be making his 2021 debut at UFC 259 when he takes on young, up-and-comer Casey Kenney.
According to an MMA Junkie report, Dominick Cruz will be giving Casey Kenney the biggest opportunity of his young MMA career when the two square off at UFC 259. The 29-year-old Casey has gotten off to a strong start in the UFC with a record of 5-1 in the promotion. However, he is currently unranked in the bantamweight division, so the benefits of a victory over Dominick Cruz would be two-fold: It would enter him into the rankings and also be a win over a legend who is arguably viewed as the consensus greatest bantamweight of all time. In his most recent bout, Kenney defeated Nathaniel Wood via unanimous decision at UFC 254.
Dominick Cruz is currently ranked #10 in the bantamweight rankings and is coming off a controversial loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 249. Cejudo won the bout via TKO, but Cruz and others believe the fight was stopped prematurely. Nonetheless, Cejudo retired soon after the bout, thus vacating the bantamweight championship and leaving the division wide open.
Dominick Cruz is seemingly taking the patient approach by beginning his re-ascent to the top against an unranked opponent. In the past, Cruz has been more on the conservative end about whom he would fight. A win here would be a way for Cruz to regain some momentum by earning his first win in over four years, but a loss here could be devastating and potentially even knock him out of the rankings altogether.
UFC 259 takes place Saturday, March 6. Thus far, the current lineup includes the following bouts:
Thiago Santos vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Joseph Benavidez vs. Askar Askarov
Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney
Randy Costa vs. Trevin Jones
Aalon Cruz vs. Uros Medic
What are your thoughts on the matchmakers’ pairing of Dominick Cruz and Casey Kenney? And who do you think gets the W?
