UFC sets up bantamweight title match between Cruz vs Dilashaw at UFC Fight Night 81

Cruz vs Dilashaw announced as main event of UFC Fight Night 81

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz has been cleared by his doctors to resume MMA training and this couldn’t have come at a better time for the UFC as instead of giving him a couple of tune-up fights, Cruz has instead been given a chance to reclaim the crown he never lost in the first place, as he is set to face champion T J Dilashaw in the main-event of UFC Fight Night 81.

The 135-pound division has been proven hollow in recent times after Dilashaw made a statement on former undisputed king Renan Barao, not once but twice, leaving no obvious challenger in sight for him. So, it is easy to understand why the UFC wants to push ‘Dominator’ back into action, competing for the title as he never really relinquished the belt to Dilashaw. Also, following nearly a three-year hiatus owing to injury, Cruz returned to action at UFC 178 and made quick work of Takeya Mizugaki, like nobody had ever done before. The match with Dilashaw was set next, when the injury bug bit Cruz again this time with several knee injuries and a groin tear to boot.

In a division with no clear-cut challengers to boot, the Cruz – Dilashaw bout is all that is worth looking forward to, and though Cruz will be returning off a 16-month hiatus by the time the fight rolls around, one can be rest assured that this will be a battle worth the wait and both competitors have no love lost between them either as Cruz has accused Dilashaw of ‘stealing’ his style while ‘Viper’ has promised to finish Cruz ‘faster than Barao’.