Dominick Cruz got into a heated back-and-forth with Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz after answering he would compete one final time in 2025.
Last week, ‘The Dominator’ revealed in an interview with TMZ Sports that he would return to the Octagon after the new year for one last dance on MMA’s biggest stage.
“I think I got a last dance, I got one last dance in me, just to go out there and go have fun,” Cruz said. “And when I say ‘fun’ I mean ‘fight to the bitter death and see what I have in me.’ The fun comes months after that, that’s where it gets to set in and okay, that was fun.
“But I’m ready to walk into the fire again and see what life and death really looks like. And one more go at that would be a pleasure. So I’m building myself up, I’m at altitude, I’m out here in Mexico City [at the UFC Performance Institute]. Some of the best training I’ve ever had in my whole career.”
Following Cruz’s announcement, UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik took to social media and suggested a rematch with Henry Cejudo as the former two-time bantamweight titleholder’s swan song.
As it turns out, Anik’s suggestion sparked a war of words between Cruz and Abdelaziz, Cejudo’s manager. After Abdelaziz commented on Anik’s post saying a fight with Cruz would be “easy money for Henry,” ‘The Dominator’ snapped back.
“You are simply a work mule…Your words hold no weight,” Cruz replied.
“Also, one more thing the only weight you hold is commentating on the desk, I promise you I hold a lot more weight than you in this game,” Abdelaziz wrote back.
“It’s easy money for you-as you get a percentage paid by your fighter no matter what, while you chat sh*t that you personally cannot back up,” Cruz clapped back. “You have no skin in the game, that’s what makes you weak.“
Abdelaziz says he won’t take a percentage from Cejudo if dominick cruz accepts the fight
After exchanging words, Abdelaziz said that if Cruz accepted the fight, he wouldn’t take a percentage of Cejudo’s purse.
“I will make you a deal if you fight Henry I will take zero percentage from,” Abdelaziz wrote. “I just want to see him whoop your ass and I’m sure Henry will make a lot more money than you do, you have my word as a man I will take zero percentage” (h/t BJPenn.com).
Cruz and Cejudo previously met at UFC 249 in May 2020. On that night, ‘Triple C’ scored a TKO over Cruz in the waning seconds of the second round to retain the bantamweight title. Cejudo then immediately vacated the belt, announcing he would be retiring from the sport.
Since then, Cejudo has returned to the Octagon, losing back-to-back bouts against Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.