Cruz gets into war of words with ‘little man’ Henry Cejudo
“I’ve got hours in there over you, little man. You’re a wrestler. I’m about to prove that and expose you real quick.”
Henry Cejudo got into a fun back-and-forth with Dominick Cruz during Tuesday’s UFC 249 conference call, with Cruz referring to himself as ‘the Michael Jordan’ of the bantamweight division and Cejudo promising to retire ‘The Dominator’ for good on May 9.
Things started off cordial between the two bantamweights but things got heated after ‘The Messenger’ vowed to take out Cruz within the first three rounds of their co-headlining title bout on Saturday evening.
“You better start collecting unemployment checks because I’m taking your ass out,” Cejudo said (h/t MMA Fighting). “‘Dominique!’ You know I’m the real deal. You know I’m coming. You ain’t getting past three rounds.”
“Yeah, okay. You’re short, I know that,” Cruz responded. “And I know that you’re gonna have a hard time finding me, little man.”
“Remember that, ‘Princess,’” Cejudo said.
“Okay. We’ll see, man,” Cruz answered. “When you’re in there missing, you’re gonna find out real quick the difference, and the amount of rounds that I’ve got in there over you. I’ve got hours in there over you, little man. You’re a wrestler. I’m about to prove that and expose you real quick.”
“I’ve been the UFC flyweight champion, I’m the bantamweight champion of the world, and I am the greatest combat sports athlete of all-time,” Cejudo said.
“We’ll see about that. There you go, plugging your credentials again, but none of those mean anything to anybody,” Cruz said. “It doesn’t make a difference for anybody but yourself. I had the belt for 10 years…”
“You only fought two times in 10 years, Dominick,” Cejudo interrupted.
“I fought many times in 10 years and, you know what? I have more title fights than you as well. Remember that, too,” Cruz responded. “All you have to do it look at the numbers, Henry. You’re catching up, bro. You can win three more title fights and still be catching up to me.”
“Well you prove it to me, Princess, on May 9. Because on May 9—like I said before—I’m serving GOAT,” Cejudo exclaimed.
Then came the dreaded Michael Jordan reference.
“They don’t have a Michael Jordan of MMA,” Cejudo said when asked about his legacy.
“It’s me,” Cruz said. “I’m the Michael Jordan of 135.”
Cruz hasn’t fought since 2016, when he lost the bantamweight title to Cody Garbrandt in the UFC 207 co-main event. During that time, Cejudo has won two world titles and solidified himself as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
UFC 249, which will feature Cejudo vs. Cruz in the co-main event, takes place this Saturday, May 9 at the VyState Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.