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MMA

08th Jan 2017

Cody Garbrandt claims Dominick Cruz turned down a rematch

Time to look elsewhere.

Tom Victor

Dominick Cruz may well still be reeling from his shock defeat to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207.

The 31-year-old was defending an unbeaten UFC record when ‘No Love’ pulled off a surprise unanimous decision victory over his opponent to become the new top dog at bantamweight.

Cruz was humble in defeat, offering a speech that inspired many, including Arsenal full-back Héctor Bellerín.

After an illustrious mixed martial arts career, during which he had lost just once – in his pre-UFC days – before facing Garbrandt, many expected Cruz to get an immediate chance to reclaim his title.

However, according to Garbrandt at least, such an opportunity is far from the ‘Dominator’s’ thoughts at the moment.

When asked about offering Cruz the chance to get immediate revenge, the 25-year-old claims he tried but was knocked back. Cruz – at the time of writing – is yet to reply to the claim.

So, who might be next for the Ohio native?

He has expressed a desire to “test José Aldo’s chin” at featherweight, or even to take on Conor McGregor at a catchweight.

Of course the bantamweight division has others looking for a title shot – not least TJ Dillashaw, whose victory over John Lineker at UFC 207 seemed to move him up in the queue, but Garbrandt has claimed that fight “doesn’t make sense”.