Dominick Cruz is setting the record straight about recent reports that he called out “Suga” Sean O’Malley following UFC 260.
In the immediate aftermath of Sean O’Malley’s impressive victory over Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 that ended with a literal airball jumper, it was reported that Dominick Cruz had called next. The initial report came from none other than Chael P. Sonnen, whom Cruz has had a long acquaintance with. The news then began to circulate around the media, including right here on MMA News.
On Wednesday, Cruz addressed Sonnen’s report publicly for the first time in an ESPN interview. He began his clarifying remarks by stating that Sonnen had a stake in claiming that Cruz texted him about O’Malley because Sonnen is a promoter for Submission Underground, a grappling promotion that Cruz claims Sonnen has approached him to compete in before.
“He definitely bent the truth over backwards on this one,” Cruz said. “I did not text him that. In fact, six months ago, I’d say, he called me before I had picked up this fight with Casey Kenney and agreed to it before Shelby brought it to me. He asked me if I wanted to be part of his grappling promotion against Sean O’Malley or against Roman Bravo-Young. And I’m thinking, ‘OK, why would I go do this when I’m still planning to fight? And I said, ‘No, I’m not gonna do this because I’m planning to fight. I plan on coming back to fight.’ And he said, ‘Respect.’ And that was it.
“And so then he brings this back around and creates it again. And it’s just very Chael Sonnen of him to do so. But I did not text him.”
Does Dominick Cruz Have Interest In Fighting Sean O’Malley?
This brought us to the natural question of whether or not there was any truth to Cruz being interested in fighting Sean O’Malley, even if the original report was flawed. “The Dominator” expressed that he is open to fighting O’Malley but suggested that he is no more or less interested in fighting the rising star than any other impressive bantamweight in the division.
“Am I interested in fighting again? Yes. Do I need to call out one specific person? No. Am I saying no to one specific person? No,” Cruz said.
“…No, I’m not opposed to it, but I haven’t talked to (UFC Matchmaker Sean Shelby) or anything, and I’m just getting back into training again now. I’m nursing bursitis in my left elbow. And once that goes away and I’ll be in it this whole month, we’ll think of something and we’ll get back in there. Before the end of the year, I’m gonna fight again.”
Dominick Cruz last competed at UFC 259 in a successful showing against Casey Kenney. Cruz earned a split-decision victory in what many people considered to be a performance deserving of a unanimous nod.
As for the chances of a potential Cruz vs. O’Malley pairing, Cruz is currently ranked #9 in the division while the 26-year-old O’Malley is unranked. Ironically, the disputed if not outright fabricated report by Chael Sonnen may have already gotten the wheels turning in the heads of the UFC matchmakers and could result in the two being paired together anyway.
What do you think? Should the UFC matchmakers try to put together Dominick Cruz vs. Sean O’Malley?
