"Get him beat, and I'll shut up" - Chael Sonnen makes case for Dominick Cruz to face a top 5-ranked contender

Chael Sonnen has addressed Dominick Cruz’s recent call-outs of a few bantamweight elites. In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Sonnen expressed his support for Cruz and explained why ‘The Dominator’ is indeed deserving of a fight against a top 5-ranked UFC bantamweight contender.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz recently spoke to The Schmo and challenged former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan and former UFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. Cruz also called out reigning UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling and former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

Sonnen addressed these call-outs and indicated that certain sections of the MMA community have recently written off the 37-year-old Cruz as a title contender. Sonnen disagreed with them and stated:

“If Dom’s opportunities have already come and gone, if Dom has reached the age that we’ve just decided [that he’s done], then get rid of him. But to get rid of him, let’s get him beat. If I’m wrong and Dominick’s not still one of the guys, get him beat, and I’ll shut up, and so will everybody else.”

Sonnen also added on Cruz calling out a few fighters by saying:

“But Dominick called some people out. He called out Aldo. He called out Yan. He called out Sterling. Surprisingly, he did not call out [TJ] Dillashaw. But he did call out Cejudo. Now, if you took all of those names, and you put them in a hat, and you just pull one out, we the audience are happy.”

Sonnen once again suggested that if Cruz is no longer a championship-caliber fighter and can’t win the belt on any given night, then an elite bantamweight should simply beat him. Furthermore, Sonnen reiterated that Cruz deserves the opportunity to fight a top-tier UFC bantamweight next.

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Dominick Cruz’s future and more in the video below:

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Dominick Cruz has been relentless in his pursuit of a fight against Jose Aldo

Neither Dominick Cruz's nor Jose Aldo's next fight has been announced yet. Cruz, who is widely revered for pursuing the most challenging fights available, has been unrelenting in his campaign for a bout against fellow MMA legend Jose Aldo.

Intriguingly, the Aldo-Cruz clash has long been a dream matchup for many in the MMA community. Earlier this year, Petr Yan posted a tweet wherein he asserted that an Aldo-Cruz matchup is the fight to make. Yan's tweet read as follows:

“Aldo VS Cruz is fight to make”

Cruz seemingly concurred with Yan and indicated that he’d most definitely like to fight Aldo. Replying to Yan’s suggestion, ‘The Dominator’ posted a tweet that read as follows:

“@PetrYanUFC I agree with you Champ.”