Dominick Cruz believes Alexandre Pantoja should’ve been given the chance to continue fighting after an early injury.
Longtime UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja’s title reign came to an abrupt halt after suffering an injury just seconds into his fight with Joshua Van at UFC 323. As Pantoja attempted to brace himself after a brief exchange, he suffered a freak arm injury, and the fight was immediately waved off by referee Herb Dean.
Once Pantoja is medically cleared to return to the Octagon, the UFC matchmakers will likely book an immediate rematch with the new champion Van.
As Pantoja left the Octagon without the UFC flyweight title, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz raised eyebrows with his immediate reaction. In a tweet that made noise on X, Cruz questioned Dean’s stoppage and made the case that Pantoja should’ve been given the option to continue fighting, despite the ailment.
Cruz’s tweet drew a lot of attention on social media, with fans and pundits equally supporting and criticizing his views. Weeks removed from UFC 323, Cruz has expanded on his position.
Dominick Cruz defends viral tweet about Alexandre Pantoja’s injury at UFC 323
In a recent episode of the Love & War podcast, Cruz explained his viral tweet about Pantoja’s injury at UFC 323.
“I think the reason why this tweet got picked up is because it sounds kind of crazy, probably,” Cruz said. “But as a fighter myself, I watched that fight and saw somebody who was shaking his head when it got stopped. It’s like he looked up at the ref, right here you’ll see he falls, boom, he’s shaking his head, like, ‘No.’ … and he’s like, ‘I’m alright, I’m alright’. You see him saying that?
“I’m not saying he is OK, by the way. He might be completely messed up. Right now, for all I know, he could be saying, ‘Yeah, freak accident. Shouldn’t have happened. He could just be disappointed that it’s over, that it got stopped, but the way I see it is like, ‘I’m alright. I’m alright.’” (h/t MMA Fighting)