Dominick Cruz slams talk of T.J. Dillashaw getting a title shot next: “It’s crazy”

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz doesn’t want to see T.J. Dillashaw fighting for the belt next.

The UFC’s bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling is coming off a title defense at UFC 273 against Petr Yan last month. Following the win, ‘Funk Master’ was rumored for a showdown with either Jose Aldo or T.J. Dillashaw.

As of now, it’s not confirmed who Sterling will face next. However, if Dillashaw receives the shot next, it’s sure to be controversial. ‘Killashaw’ only has one victory since 2018, a win over Cory Sandhagen last July. He spent the better part of that time under suspension from USADA, as he was suspended for using EPO in 2019.

It’s safe to say that Dominick Cruz is among those who don’t want to see T.J. Dillashaw fighting for a title. The former UFC titleholder discussed his thoughts on the title picture on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. Cruz pointed to Dillashaw’s inactivity due to his drug suspension as the reason why he doesn’t deserve the shot.

“He was suspended for cheating, so to get a shot after one win, OK, cool. Sounds like a hook-up to me. He got two years off, didn’t really lose any money and then just gets right back up in [the title picture]. It’s not like he had an easy fight; [Cory] Sandhagen’s no joke. But still, one fight? Pedro Munhoz and all these other people that are in the division that have just been competing, competing, competing, it’s crazy. But I kind of get it, because when I was laid off for so long with my knee injuries, I came back, fought [Takeya] Mizugaki, blew my knee out again, and came back and got a title shot.” (h/t MMAFighting)

Dominick Cruz continued, “But I hadn’t lost, and I hadn’t gotten in trouble for anything – I just blew my knees out. So, it’s a little different, and I got my shot that way. But it’s showing me that what is dominant in each division is ticket sales and storyline, and the storyline of T.J. Dillashaw, the fact that he cheated, isn’t really in that. If anything, it just makes people dislike him more, which will make people tune in. So I think that the storyline is more important for the UFC than anything else to sell tickets than who deserves what.”

What do you think about Dominick Cruz’s comments about T.J. Dillashaw?