"There's no way he's going to go out like that" - Michael Bisping believes Dominick Cruz will come back "bigger, better, stronger," shuts down retirement speculations
Dominick Cruz recently took on Marlon Vera, where he was defeated via knockout due to a fourth-round head kick. Many have speculated on Cruz's future, noting that his best days are likely behind him. Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, now a UFC commentator, feels that Cruz cannot end a legendary career on that note. Speaking on his YouTube show, BISPING, he stated (starting at the 7:28 mark):
"You could argue that there's a narrative being painted there that perhaps Father Time, who's undefeated, is catching up with Dominick Cruz at 37 years old. And maybe that's true, but so what? Dominick Cruz will live to fight another day, and Dominick Cruz will fight another day."
Bisping elaborated on his comments by adding:
"There's no way he's going to go out like that. There's no way he's going to go down to San Diego, his hometown, get stopped in front of his fans, and then hang up the gloves like that. No way. That is not the Dominick Cruz I know. I know for a fact he will be back bigger, better, stronger, and more determined than ever, and I look forward to it."
At the time of the knockout, Cruz was up two rounds to one on all three scorecards. Despite likening the matchup to a title-fight, due to the five-round nature, Cruz would have benefited from a three-round fight in this case.
Michael Bisping had a legendary career in the UFC middleweight division, which led to him being the fifth of just nine fighters thus far to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's modern wing. Cruz is likely to accomplish the same once he hangs his gloves up, given the time he spent atop the UFC's bantamweight division.
Watch Michael Bisping's full reaction to the fight between Dominick Cruz and Marlon Vera below:
Is Michael Bisping correct that Dominick Cruz shouldn't retire?
This summer has been filled with retirements in the MMA community, so it would be no surprise if Dominick Cruz were to join these ranks.
Rory MacDonald joins Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Donald Cerrone, James Krause, Uriah Hall, Nina Nunes, Jessica Eye, Eddie Wineland as some of the names to recently retire – and that's just this summer. twitter.com/MMAJunkie/stat…
Despite Dominick Cruz losing in a non-title fight for the first time in his career, Michael Bisping doesn't believe that he should retire. Henry Cejudo echoed that sentiment in his post-fight breakdown, adding that he thought Cruz looked good and was winning the fight before being knocked out.
Post fight breakdown: My final thoughts on Dominic Cruz vs Marlon Vera. 🏆🏆🏆 https://t.co/ImjfJvZkWd
While Cruz did not get the result he wanted, he didn't look overmatched by his much younger opponent. He performed admirably and just happened to get caught with a beautiful head kick. The loss may have pushed Cruz further out of the title picture, but there are plenty of fights that he could take to work his way back towards title contention.