Cejudo vs Cruz

The UFC/MMA championship bout between Henry Cejudo and Dominick Cruz is slated to take place on Saturday, 9 May 2020. UFC 249 is one of the most highly anticipated fight nights of the calendar, taking place at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Main Card on pay-per-view features a smattering of world-class MMA fighters competing for glory at 10 PM Eastern Standard Time, notably:

* Yorgan De Castro versus Greg Hardy
* Calvin Kattar versus Jeremy Stephens
* Francis Ngannou versus Jairzinho Rozenstruik
 
INTERIM LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE Tony Ferguson versus Justin Gaethje
BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE BOUT   Henry Cejudo versus Dominick Cruz

The Main Card is preceded by the preliminary card at 6:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, featuring the following fights:

• Sam Alvey versus Ryan Spann
• Vicente Luque versus Niko Price  
• Uriah Hall versus Ronaldo Souza
• Bryce Mitchell versus Charles Rosa
• Donald Cerrone versus Anthony Pettis
• Carla Esparza versus Michelle Waterson
• Aleksei Oleinik versus Fabricio Werdum

Odds for Henry Cejudo

Reigning champion, Henry Cejudo is heavily favored to win the bout against Dominic Cruz, with bookmakers giving him hotshot UFC odds in the region of -220/-240 against his opponent, while his Dominick Cruz has odds of +185/+200. As the co-main event bouts, the Cejudo versus Cruz contest is drawing just as much attention as the Gaethje versus Ferguson match-up.

As a sports bettor, it's important to evaluate the past performance of pugilists to determine their chances of success moving forward. The UFC champ, Henry Cejudo – The Messenger – boasts the following stats from 2014 to the present day:

• Henry Cejudo vs Dustin Kimura WIN Round 3 U-DEC
• Henry Cejudo vs Chris Cariaso WIN Round 3 U-DEC
• Henry Cejudo vs Chico Camus WIN Round 3 U-DEC
• Henry Cejudo vs Jussier Formiga WIN Round 3 S-DEC
• Henry Cejudo vs Demetrious Johnson LOSS Round 1 KO/TKO
• Henry Cejudo vs Joseph Benavidez LOSS Round 3 S-DEC
• Henry Cejudo vs Wilson Reis  WIN Round 2 KO/TKO
• Henry Cejudo vs Sergio Pettis WIN Round 3 U-DEC
• Henry Cejudo vs Demetrious Johnson WIN Round 5 S-DEC
• Henry Cejudo vs TJ Dillashaw WIN Round 1 KO/TKO
• Henry Cejudo. vs Marlon Moraes WIN Round 3 KO/TKO

His last fight took place on June 8, 2019 at UFC 238.

Dominick Cruz Fight Odds

Going into this title bout, Henry Cejudo was coming off 2 x KO/TKOs within the last year. His opponent, Dominick Cruz has an orthodox stance with a significant height advantage (5'8" versus 5'4") and a reach of 68 inches. For his part, Dominick Cruz – The Dominator – has endured just 2 losses in his career since March 24, 2007. His career stats are impressive at 22-2-0. His fight record from 2007 to the present day reads as follows:

• Dominick Cruz vs Urijah Faber LOSS Round 1 SUB
• Dominick Cruz vs Charlie Valencia  WIN Round 2 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Ian McCall  WIN  Round 3 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Ivan Lopez WIN Round 3 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Joseph Benavidez WIN Round 3 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Brian Bowles WIN Round 2 KO/TKO
• Dominick Cruz vs Joseph Benavidez WIN Round 5 S-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Scott Jorgensen WIN Round 5 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Urijah Faber WIN Round 5 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Demetrious Johnson WIN Round 5 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Takeya Mizugaki WIN Round 1 KO/TKO
• Dominick Cruz vs TJ Dillashaw WIN Round 5 S-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Urijah Faber WIN Round 5 U-DEC
• Dominick Cruz vs Cody Barbrandt LOSS Round 5 U-DEC

His last fight took place on December 30, 2016 at UFC 207. Clearly, both fighters are in form, despite a significant hiatus for Dominick Cruz.

Both fighters have had rematches with contenders before, with Cruz going up against Urijah Faber with two wins and one loss, and Cejudo going up against Johnson with one win and one loss. The outcome of UFC 249 may spur additional contests between these two UFC superstars.

Recall that Cejudo was originally slated to go up against José Aldo, but that was called off due to health and safety concerns, in favor of MMA fight pro, Dominick Cruz who's making his welcome return after 4 years in absentia. A 47-month hiatus for Cruz doesn’t look too good to his fans watching from the sidelines, particularly at this level of the competition. While it smacks of desperation on the part of the UFC to cobble together a Main Event bout, there's no denying the quality of these fighters. Over the years, Cruz has battled many demons, including broken bones. For Cejudo UFC 249 was supposed to be a cakewalk…

* Image courtesy of Brandon Wade and AP Henry Cejudo