Dominick Cruz says he can "absolutely" beat Conor McGregor, is willing to fight him at lightweight

It’s no secret that everyone wants a piece of Conor McGregor. The UFC featherweight champion possesses a loud mouth but has also become a massive draw for the fighting promotion. Facing McGregor gives opponents the opportunity at a massive payday as well as the chance to silence the mouthy McGregor.

Although lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is the next to get the opportunity at UFC 205, there is one opponent who may be able to match McGregor in both the skills department as well as trash talking: UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.

The topic of a possible McGregor-Cruz fight was brought up by a fan question after UFC 204 and Cruz certainly didn’t shy away from the idea. The bantamweight champion outlined how he’d take out the hard-hitting Irishman. Not only that, but Cruz is willing to meet McGregor two weight classes higher than his own at lightweight.

“I know as much as McGregor, and more, about this sport than anybody and it seems that the only way to beat McGregor is with your mind,” Cruz said. “I know I can do that and I know that I can also technically beat him. And I know that at 145 pounds I am extremely fast and hard to deal with. I can beat McGregor, absolutely. And I would love to fight him at 145 pounds or 155 pounds if he wins the title. I don’t care, I’m the champion and my style is built for moving up in weight classes because I don’t take damage.”

Cruz has proven to be a formidable opponent in the mind game department and has engaged in some entertaining verbal jousting with his opponents. Perhaps more important than Cruz’s proficiency in the trash-talking department is the fact that he hasn’t lost a fight in nearly 10 years. Granted, he was sidelined with myriad injuries that only saw him fight once from October 2011 to January 2016, but his résumé certainly speaks for itself.

Ultimately, Cruz doesn’t want to become just another guy who wants a fight against McGregor. But he certainly believes that he has the mental and physical tools to take him down. However, if the fight is going to be made, Cruz believes that it’s up to one man to make it happen.

“Look everyone’s calling out Conor McGregor,” Cruz said. “I don’t want to be another guy because everybody wants that fight. But, the thing is, McGregor is picking his own fights. So that’s not up to me, it’s not up to UFC, it’s up to McGregor.”