The former Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz recently made remarks regarding ex-Champion Henry Cejudo who made his return at UFC-288 on Saturday [May 7].
Cejudo challenged reigning title holder Aljamain Sterling at UFC-288 which the latter won.
Sterling dominated the fight through effective striking with knees and punches, and got the decision in his favour, 47-48, 48-47, 48-47, from two of the three judges.
Dominick welcomed the result of UFC-288 saying that the result was a “treat” to the MMA world, especially to the fighters.
“We’re lucky that MMA didn’t get hit too hard by that because I think that it would have been really catastrophic to have Henry there [as champion]. I think Sterling is gonna be much better for the 135-pound division as champion,” he explained while appearing on Monday’s MMA Hour episode.
“I just think he’s more active, shows himself as a champion that I’m proud to say he’s the champion at 135, the way he carries himself, the way that he fights, the way that he shows respect, stuff like that,” he added.
Cruz also talked about Henry’s retirement in 2020. According to him, the American star retired to “dodge” pressure.
“Anybody who comes and wins the title and retires when they’re in their prime is trying to dodge pressure,” he said. “Think about this. If we’re in a group of 50 people, and we’re all training, all of us MMA fighters, and we’re all in one room training.”
“Let’s just say it’s a training session, and Henry knocks somebody out in the middle of that training session, and then walks off the mat and lets us all train for the next three hours, and then he comes back after three hours and goes, ‘OK, I’ll give you guys a chance to compete with me today. He just rested for three hours. But we all kept working in the USADA testing pool, and while all these guys are staring at us, drooling, ready to get that next spot. You know how much pressure that is?” he concluded.
Cejudo does not plan to retire again as he is now more open to fights. His record currently stands at 16-3, as he broke a six-fight win streak.