Dominick Cruz reveals the “excuse” Jose Aldo used to not fight him in his UFC return

Dominick Cruz says him not being ranked is the reason Jose Aldo wouldn’t fight him in his return to the UFC.

Aldo returned to the Octagon at UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, against Jonathan Martinez and in doing so he fought out his current UFC deal. It’s unclear if he will re-sign, but if he does, one fight that fans want to see is him vs. Cruz.

Dominick Cruz says it has been a fight he has wanted but the former bantamweight champ claims Jose Aldo made an excuse to not fight him in his return to the promotion.

“That is a banger, I haven’t fought him yet so I’m not opposed to it. We were supposed to be matched up in the early days of WEC when I was winning at 135 and he was winning at 145. That never happened, he just finished out his contract and in the last interview I saw with Aldo, he said they offered him to fight me and he said he didn’t want to fight somebody that wasn’t ranked. Well, I asked myself to be pulled out of the rankings because I’m going to fight someone in the rankings whether I’m ranked or not because that is what I’m getting paid to fight,” Cruz said on the Overdogs Podcast.

“When I got myself pulled from the rankings, he used that as an excuse as he didn’t want to fight (to me). He then fought Jonathan Martinez who also isn’t ranked (Martinez is ranked 14th). So, I didn’t really understand that. But, at the end of the day, he needed to end his contract in a way that made him comfortable is the best way I can think. Let me just get out of the way out of that guy who knows who he is and can bring a scrap, and let me make sure I can be a free agent with a win,” Dominick Cruz continued.

Whether or not that is why Aldo vs. Cruz didn’t happen is uncertain. But, the hope for many fans is the fight can happen before they both retire.