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Henry Cejudo open to running things back with Dominick Cruz: 'I would love a tune-up'

farah hannoun
·2 min read
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Henry Cejudo is willing to be Dominick Cruz's last dance.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Cruz (24-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) recently revealed that he's looking to compete one more time next year before calling it a career.

UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik suggested a rematch between Cruz and Cejudo, which sparked a back-and-forth argument on "X" between Cruz and Cejudo's manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

Cejudo finished Cruz by TKO in their bantamweight title fight at UFC 249 in May 2020, where Cruz was unhappy with referee Keith Peterson's stoppage of the fight. He accused him of smelling like alcohol and cigarettes.

"Dominick 'Snooze' – the only thing I remember about Dominick Cruz is when I put that freaking knee on top of his freaking dome," Cejudo said on his "Pound 4 Pound" podcast with Kamaru Usman. "That's the only thing that I remember him for. Then he woke up and was talking about 'Alcohol and cigarettes' and he starts blaming the referee when he had 13 unanswered shots.

"I actually like that fight. If the UFC wants to make it, let's make it happen. But as I've told you before, as I told (Mario) Bautista, and everybody else: I don't want to get into a fight with Hunter (Campbell) no more. I'm allowing Hunter to really pick the fight. If he wants to give Dominick Cruz that fight, then let's do it."

After retaining his bantamweight title against Cruz, Cejudo retired. He returned three years later to challenge then champion Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 288, but lost a split decision. He then dropped another decision to current champion Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 298.

Meanwhile, Cruz hasn't competed since a knockout loss to Marlon Vera in the UFC on ESPN 41 headliner in August 2022. Cejudo came to the defense of his manager Abdelaziz on social media and went after Cruz.

"Disrespect the greatest manager of all time! the last time I remember you, my knee hit your ugly face and blamed it on alcohol and cigarettes. I would love a tune-up to be honest ."

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Henry Cejudo open to running things back with Dominick Cruz: 'I would love a tune-up'