Cruz Not A Fan Of Stoppage Against Cejudo
Dominick Cruz isn’t one for excuses, but he was far from pleased with referee Keith Peterson’s stoppage of his fight with Henry Cejudo.
Cruz suffered a second-round TKO loss to Cejudo in their bantamweight title co-main event in what many observers believed to be an early stoppage. With just seconds remaining in the round, Cejudo connected with a knee to the head which dropped Cruz.
The 135-pound champion pounced and started landing a number of shots as Cruz was attempting to get up. It looked like Cruz was about to do just that before Peterson called an end to the fight.
“The Dominator” made his thoughts on the stoppage known in his post-fight interview as he believed he was working his way up. And in the post-fight show, he went one step further by making a big allegation against Peterson.
“Dominick Cruz on the #UFC249 post-fight show claims referee Keith Peterson ‘smelled like alcohol and cigarettes’ during his fight. Said he wanted to have referee changed when he stepped in the cage.”
Dominick Cruz on the #UFC249 post-fight show claims referee Keith Peterson “smelled like alcohol and cigarettes” during his fight. Said he wanted to have referee changed when he stepped in the cage.
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) May 10, 2020
It’s a huge allegation to make.
As mentioned, Cruz isn’t one for excuses so it may not be a case of him being a sore loser. At the same time, it may have been his last chance at regaining the bantamweight title. As Bruce Buffer was announcing the official result, observers can also see Cruz exchanging heated words with Peterson.
It will be interesting to see if the Florida State Athletic Commission, Dana White or even Peterson himself responds to Cruz’s allegations.
