Fans may care about Dominick Cruz being placed on the prelims of UFC 259, but he doesn’t. Cruz will face Casey Kenney in the highlighted preliminary bout of UFC 259. According to Cruz, the placement is more beneficial to him, rather than a sign of disrespect.
UFC 259 takes place on March 6 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event will be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between Jan Blachowicz and UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
Cruz on Being on the Prelims
Cruz spoke to ESPN MMA about the event, including his placement on the card. Instead of looking at it as a blow to his ego, Cruz spun the position into a positive.
“More people tune into that than they will the main card. I’m right before the main card so everybody is watching that one because it’s the end of the prelims. It’s kind of like the lead-off hitter of a baseball team. That’s usually the fight that people wanna see almost every time they put these fights together. I’m excited to be in that position,” said Cruz.
Financial Incentives
He continued by explaining that there’s no financial benefit for him being on the main card. And, that if fans want to take a stand about anything, it should be more money for main card fighters.
“To not be on the main card, I don’t get paid more,” Cruz said. “None of us fighters get paid any different whether we’re on the main card or the prelims. So if people wanna stand up for anything, stand up for that. If the guys are on the main card, pay them the most amount of money I guess if that’s something to stand for.
Do fans of the sport believe that the UFC is being disrespectful to Cruz for his card placement? Or, is Cruz right about maximizing exposure?