UFC News: Top Bantamweight fighter wants to face the returning Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz has not fought since losing to Cody Garbrandt in December 2016 as countless injuries have put the former Bantamweight Champion on the shelf.

However, he is expected to fight in the future and Cody Sandhagen is eyeing a fight against the former king of the 135 lb division.

While speaking to MMAJunkie, Sandhagen opened up about his future after the UFC pulled him from the Raleigh card.

Sandhagen was originally scheduled to take on Frankie Edgar at the UFC Fight Night 166 Event on January 25th, however, Edgar stepped in to replace Brian Ortega at the recent UFC Busan event for a fight against the Korean Zombie.

Edgar was brutally knocked out and handed a mandatory medical suspension after the loss.

Sandhagen is now left without an opponent but the #4 ranked Bantamweight would like to take on Dominick Cruz in the first week of March.

Sandhagen, however, realizes that there is no guarantee that the fight may happen and is willing to wait until the end of April to face any of the top 5 fighters from the division.

“Ideally, me and Cruz fight in first week of March. Ideally, I fight on that date against Dominick Cruz, if that doesn’t happen then I’m likely going to have to wait until later March or April when this second round of bantamweight fights comes up and I can snag one of those top five guys.”

Sandhagen isn't pushing hard for a fight against Cruz, who is rumored to make his comeback in 2020. Sandhagen also stated that he is open to fighting any of the top contenders of the 135-pound division, including Marlon Moraes, Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling.

“I’m not going to try to chase a fight with Cruz too much because I think that the division is in a spot right now – all of the fights I feel like are going to do similar things for me so for example, if I fight Moraes, or if I fight Yan or if I fight Cruz, or Sterling or Aldo, or whoever else there is to fight in that top five area, fighting either of those guys isn’t a ticket to a title shot. There’s still no clear contender, I just don’t want to be left in the dust.” H/t Credit: MMAJunkie