UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz will make the next defence of his title on free television. Cruz will face Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson at UFC Live 6, which is set for October 1st at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. NBC Sports first reported on the bout today.
Cruz is coming off of a close but Unanimous Decision victory over former WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber at UFC 132. With the win, he avenged the lone defeat of his career. Johnson recently earned a razor-thin and contentious Unanimous Decision over Miguel Torres at UFC 130.
Cruz (18-1-0) had won nine straight fights before running into Faber in their WEC 26 title fight in March 2007. After taking a year off, he returned to action and immediately began racking up more wins, which led to a shot at then-WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles at WEC 47. Cruz defeated Bowles by doctor stoppage after the second round to capture the title and went on to retain it in a pair of WEC championship defences. Making his UFC debut earlier this month, Cruz outlasted Faber in a very close and competitive fight through five rounds to hold onto his new UFC 135-pound title.
Johnson (9-1-0), like Cruz, has battled back strong since suffering the lone defeat of his career. The loss came against Brad “One Punch” Pickett in Johnson’s promotional debut at WEC 48 and ended Johnson’s five-fight winning streak. He scored wins over Nick Pace and Damacio “The Angel of Death” Page before the WEC folded into the UFC, and has since enjoyed great success inside the Octagon. Johnson is 2-0 in the UFC, with big victories over Japanese superstar Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto and Torres, though the decision win over Torres was less than popular with fans and media alike.
While Johnson has been rumoured to be eyeing a drop down to 125 pounds when the UFC forms its flyweight division in the future, he now receives an opportunity to climb to the top of the bantamweight ranks with a win over Cruz. The bout pits Cruz’s striking against Johnson’s lightning-fast takedowns and ground game, and will be used to introduce the lighter weight class to a larger audience on the Versus television network.
UFC Live 6 takes place on October 1st at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)