Dominick Cruz: 'I won't ask for UFC title fight'

Dominick Cruz lost his UFC bantamweight title outside of the cage and, though he expects to return to action this year after over two years of repeated serious injuries, "The Dominator" says that he won't demand a shot at the title he once held.

"I never chose my fights in any part of my career, and even when I was going for the title fights [at UFC 169], that was because I was a titleholder," Cruz told Shaun Al-Shatti in a recent interview.

"I felt that, being a titleholder, why would I ever, ever take a step back and not fight for the title? Even if, let's say I was to go in there and just get mopped up [against Barao], that was the place that I was in. That was where I deserved to be, that title shot. I don't believe I would've gotten mopped up and I believe, still, in my heart, that I'm the best 135-pounder in the world when I can get back to full health. But I've never chosen my fights, and I'm not going to start now."

UFC president Dana White recently said that Cruz would be granted an immediate title shot against whoever the champ is upon his return, should he ask for it, but also advised against it. Cruz, who is now recovering from a torn quad muscle in his leg, doesn't care who he gets to take on first.

"Whatever they give me, I'm going to do," he said.

"Things are going to fall into place. I'll be right back in the position as long as I deserve it, and I'll work my way through however I need to. I'm not stressing about it because my first love is fighting, and if I need to fight, I don't care who I gotta fight. I just can't wait to get back in there, to be honest."

Who do you think would be an appropriate first fight back for Cruz? Let us know in the comments section!

Follow Elias on Twitter @EliasCepeda & @YahooCagewriter

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/dominick-cruz---i-won-t-ask-for-ufc-title-fight-144210677.html

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  Jose Aldo 

Vitor Belfort Admits Elevated Levels of Testosterone Found in Random Drug Test

Remember that random drug test the Nevada State Athletic Commission sprung on UFC middleweight top contender Vitor Belfort (pictured) at the MMA Awards in February, where the results have been kept under lock and key because Belfort isn’t licensed by the NSAC, but everyone assumed Belfort failed because most innocent men would scream to the [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/170177/vitor-belfort-admits-elevated-levels-of-testosterone-found-in-random-drug-test/

Allan Goes Takanori The Fireball Kid Gomi Akihiro Gono Gabriel Gonzaga

Ryan Bader does a 'Mean Tweets' reading for local Arizona radio station

Source: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/6/5/5783482/ufc-174-ryan-bader-mean-tweets-reading-local-arizona-radio-station-video-mma-news

Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper  Kit Cope 

Report: Rustam Khabilov gave Ali Bagautinov 'a beating' in Greg Jackson's gym

Source: http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/6/4/5781256/report-rustam-khabilov-fight-ali-bagautinov-beating-greg-jacksons-gym-mma-news

Keith Hackney Matt Hamill Volk Han Joachim Hansen

Fedor Emelianenko Not a Fan of Women?s MMA

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has taken a “full steam ahead” mentality with women’s mixed martial arts. Fedor Emelianenko (pictured), the most decorated heavyweight in the game’s history, has not hopped aboard the bandwagon. Emelianenko has an old school approach when it comes to the role women should play in society – pretty much the barefoot [...]

Source: http://www.5thRound.com/170060/fedor-emelianenko-not-a-fan-of-womens-mma/

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

UFC Fight Night Berlin: Dollaway Takes Care Of Carmont

Former Arizona State University wrestler and ex-Ultimate Fighter competitor C.B. Dollaway took the flight to Germany and controlled Francis Carmont, earning a decision victory Saturday at UFC Fight Night 41. With the victory, Dollaway (15-5) is now 4-1 in his last five fights. His wins have come in Germany, Brazil twice and the U.S. for […]

The post UFC Fight Night Berlin: Dollaway Takes Care Of Carmont appeared first on Five Ounces of Pain.

Source: http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2014/06/01/ufc-fight-night-berlin-dollaway-takes-care-of-carmont/

Royce Gracie Royler Gracie Ryan Gracie Peter Graham

Stipe Miocic Takes Care Of Business, Finishes Fabio Maldonado

The 22nd and final fight of the UFC’s day-night doubleheader ended in a matter of moments, as Stipe Miocic finished Fabio Maldonado in the main event of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale from Sao Paulo. Originally scheduled to meet former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos, Miocic made sure there would be no upset. […]

The post Stipe Miocic Takes Care Of Business, Finishes Fabio Maldonado appeared first on MMA Convert.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mmaconvert/~3/83Lf1FNbPE0/

Delson Heleno Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman

World Series Of Fighting Confirms Six Matches For Fourth Event This August

Press Release – LAS VEGAS, Nev. (June 20, 2013) ?Tickets priced from $29, for the star-studded World Series of Fighting Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. on Saturday, August 10, go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. PST tomorrow, Friday, June 21 at www.axs.com, Citizens Business Bank Arena [...]

Source: http://www.themmanews.com/world-series-of-fighting-confirms-six-matches-for-fourth-event-this-august/

Mark The Hammer Coleman Wes Soldier Combs  Ray Cooper  Kit Cope 

UFC champ T.J. Dillashaw not in new video game

If Bruce Lee were to ever have become a professional MMA fighter, he would have likely been a bantamweight. Given his charisma, physical skills and excellent fighting philosophy, fight fans and gamers were stoked to hear that Bruce Lee will be a playable character in the new EA Sports UFC game.

It would have been nice, however, if EA Sports and the UFC could have also included the best actual bantamweight MMA fighter in the world in the game. Turns out, new UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw isn't on the roster of the new UFC video game.

So, if you're looking forward to playing out Saturday night's amazing UFC 173 drama as Dillashaw upset pound for pound great Renan Barao to win the bantamweight belt in the new video game...you can't. And, that stinks.

Sure, no one could have known that Dillashaw would become the UFC champion this weekend but he has fought in promotion since 2011 and has been a top bantamweight for some time so it's still pretty weird for him to not be a playable character in the organization's new video game. Here at Cagewriter, we don't know the ins and outs of video game programming so, without having an understanding of what, exactly, is necessary to get Dillashaw and other omitted fighters in the new UFC video game we give this unsolicited technical advice...fix it.�

Make him available for download, charge extra for it, we don't know. Just get it straight.

We already had to play years of John Madden Football with the unnamed #34 as the running back for the 1985 Chicago Bears or the anonymous #32 fullback for classic 1970's Pitsburgh Steelers teams (really, Franco Harris was giving you a hard time with likeness rights?). Haven't we suffered enough, EA Sports?

Follow Elias on Twitter�@EliasCepeda�&�@YahooCagewriter

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ufc-champ-t-j--dillashaw-not-in-new-video-game-054524494.html

Dan Cramer Alberto Crane Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz Luke Cummo