Former two-time bantamweight kingpin, Dominick Cruz has lept to the defense of unbeaten challenger, Umar Nurmagomedov ahead of his title charge at UFC 311 next month, claiming the Russian is likely only in the position as fighters in his class keep rejecting fights with him.
Nurmagomedov, the current number two ranked bantamweight contender, is set to co-headline UFC 311 next month in Los Angeles, competing for Octagon spoils for the first time in a championship grudge fight against Georgian star, Merab Dvalishvili.
Sidelined since the summer, Umar Nurmagomedov would most recently improve to 18-0 with a shutout unanimous decision win over former title challenger, Cory Sandhagen in the main event of UFC Fight Night Saudi Arabia.
Dominick Cruz defends Umar Nurmagomedov’s title charge at UFC 311
And since the confirmation of Nurmagomedov’s title charge against Dvalishvili, comments have been rife regarding whether or not the former deserves a shot at the crown, however, former champion, Cruz understand why the Russian is positioned where he is right now.
“They’re [Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov] the two best bantamweights in the world right now,” Dominick Cruz told ESPN MMA. “Easily. You cannot… I know people want to try to trash Umar because of whatever the amount of fights he’s had. It’s not [his fault].”
“It’s matchmaking. It’s hard to matchmake guys… A lot of people don’t know him very well and you’re not getting paid a lot to fight a champion, essentially because now you’re going to fight a guy that’s not ranked, and you’re ranked number five right now,” Dominick Cruz continued. “You’re not going to get paid championship money, and that guy’s a champion. It’s like nobody wants to fight that guy,”
Attempting to rack up his first successful defense of the bantamweight crown, Dvalishvili has been out of action since September, headlining Noche UFC at the Las Vegas Sphere in a one-sided unanimous judging win over former champion, Sean O’Malley.
