Dominick Cruz will be returning to the Octagon in December but not against Sean O’Malley.
O’Malley has been hinting that he will be fighting in December and called out Cruz but according to MMAFighting, the former bantamweight champion will return on December 11 at UFC 269 against Pedro Munhoz. The event is expected to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dominick Cruz (23-3) returned to the win column back in March as he beat Casey Kenny by split decision at UFC 259. Prior to that, he made his return to the Octagon against Henry Cejudo at UFC 249 in May for the bantamweight title where he suffered a TKO loss. It marked his first fight since UFC 207 in 2016 where he dropped a clear-cut decision to Cody Garbrandt to lose his belt. He’s currently ranked 11th in the bantamweight division. In his career, he holds notable wins over Urijah Faber, Demetrious Johnson, TJ Dillashaw, and Joseph Benavidez among others.
Pedro Munhoz (19-6) is coming off a decision loss to Jose Aldo in the co-main event of UFC 265 in August. After the loss, he hinted at a drop to flyweight but he decided to stay at 135lbs and fight Cruz. Before the setback, he beat Jimmie Rivera by decision in February to get back into the win column after losing back-to-back fights to Frankie Edgar and Aljamain Sterling. The Brazilian is ranked ninth at bantamweight and holds notable wins over Cody Garbrandt, Rob Font, and Brett Johns among others.
With the addition of Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz, UFC 269 is as follows:
- Charles Oliveira vs. Dustin Poirier
- Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena
- Brandon Moreno vs. Deiveson Figueiredo 3
- Dominick Cruz vs. Pedro Munhoz
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Kai Kara-France
- Maycee Barber vs. Montana De La Rosa
- Randy Costa vs. Tony Kelley
- Ryan Hall vs. Darrick Minner
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Gillian Robertson
- Dricus Du Plessis vs. Andre Muniz
- Matt Schnell vs. Alex Perez
