Dominick Cruz says there were mixed signals when he wanted to face Petr Yan and it’s led to people thinking he turned down a fight with Cory Sandhagen.

Sandhagen had been calling for a bout against Cruz at UFC San Diego on May 16. From what Sandhagen was told, Cruz didn’t want to be on the card anymore. Instead, Sandhagen is now scheduled to meet Aljamain Sterling on an event that isn’t guaranteed to happen due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cruz spoke to MMAFighting.com and gave his side of the story on why he won’t be facing Cory Sandhagen.


“I was thinking, I want a title shot. I don’t want to just fight somebody, I want to fight towards the title. So I would fight anybody, let me get the title shot after that fight.

“[Sean Shelby said] ‘Petr Yan’s the guy.’ I said yes, I’ll fight Petr Yan. He said I can’t fight Petr Yan because he’s fighting Marlon Moraes. Well then I’ll fight Moraes, or Petr Yan, because those are direct fights straight to the title. After I beat either of those guys, I get a title shot. That’s what I’m in this for, not to fight 13 times beforehand.”

Yan responded to Cruz’s claim on social media. The third-ranked UFC bantamweight feels Cruz’s fighting days are over.

“Fun fact: I have more UFC wins than @DominickCruz. At this point I’m not really interested in beating tv commentators.”

Cruz hasn’t competed since Dec. 2016. He was defeated by Cody Garbrandt via unanimous decision, losing the UFC bantamweight title in the process. Injuries have derailed “The Dominator’s” comeback plans several times. Cruz has competed just five times in the last eight years.