Yahoo Sports UFC Announces Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt Title Fight
The oft-rumored UFC bantamweight championship fight between Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt is now official.
Cruz will put his belt on the line against Garbrandt in the UFC 207 co-main event on Friday, Dec. 30, in Las Vegas. UFC officials on Monday confirmed the fight, which was first reported by MMAFighting.com.
Former 135-pound champ TJ Dillashaw had been working hard to get another title shot. He made a strong case, having lost the belt to Cruz via split decision in January and then rebounding with a victory over Top 10 ranked Raphael Assuncao in July, but the UFC decided to give Garbrandt the next shot.
Cruz (22-1) has been the most dominant champion in the division's history. Having won the WEC bantamweight championship in March of 2010, he hasn't lost a fight since. In fact, Cruz's only defeat was to then WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber in 2007.
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He faced a tough stretch of injuries from late 2011 until late 2014, during which time Cruz was forced to vacate the belt. He has since won three consecutive fights, including winning the belt back from Dillashaw and then defending it against Faber.
Cruz could be facing one of his toughest challenges yet in Garbrandt. The 25-year-old rocketed into title contention by winning all 10 of his professional bouts. In his five trips to the Octagon, Cruz has knocked out four of his five opponents. Only Henry Briones was able to last a full three rounds with the youngster.
Also added to the UFC 207 fight card on Monday was a flyweight bout between top prospects Louis Smolka and Ray Borg.
UFC 207 is headlined by women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes putting her belt on the line against the returning Ronda Rousey, and all features a heavyweight rematch between top contenders Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez.
