Dominick Cruz Booked For Return Bout Against Takeya Mizugaki At UFC 178
Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz spent the best part of the last three years out of action due to a seemingly endless run of bad injuries. ‘The Dominator’ eventually vacated his title at the beginning of 2014, to see interim champion of the time Renan Barao unify the strap against Cruz’s old foe Urijah Faber.
The belt has changed hands again since then, as TJ Dillashaw stepped up and absolutely smashed ‘Baron’ for the upset win at UFC 173. Now the rematch between ‘Viper’ and ‘Baron’ is targeted for UFC 177, and the former champion Cruz is now slated in to fight at UFC 178, against fellow WEC veteran Takeya Mizugaki.
The event will go down in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 20, and is headlined by the blockbuster rematch of Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. Mizugaki is unbeaten in five fights dating back to 2012 and should be a fitting test for the returning ‘Dominator’.
After such a long time away from fighting, I think Cruz is making the right choice by not going for an immediate title shot. The option was probably there for him, but may have ended with him taking some rather unnecessary punishment. However, he and Dillashaw could make a rather interesting match, presuming Barao doesn’t win the belt back at UFC 177. Here is how the UFC 178 fight card is shaping up thus far:
Light-Heavyweight championship bout: (c) Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz vs. Takeya Mizugaki
Middleweight: Yoel Romero vs. Tim Kennedy
