Dominick Cruz writes message to John Lineker following fight cancellation

For a brief moment, there was an end to when we would have to stop waiting for Dominick Cruz to return to action. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t last very long as yet another injury postponed his storied career.

Having been set to return at UFC 233 on January 26 against John Lineker, a shoulder injury threw the fight into question and after the card’s cancellation as a whole, it appears that the fight won’t be rebooked. At least anytime soon.

Today, the former bantamweight king took to social media to praise his would-be opponent.

“The deep respect I have for you as a human being outside of the octagon is one of the biggest reasons I was honored to have this fight with you.” Cruz posted on Instagram.

“The opportunity would have been a great challenge for me next up in my career.
I regret that I didn’t get the honor of competing against you on our set date,” He continued. “I appreciate you reaching out authentically from your heart with humility in your kind, powerful words. Thank you for teaching ME what it looks like to be a whole-hearted inspiring human that looks at the 100,000-foot view, eliminating the self-focus concern that includes only selfish needs and interests. This is a setback opportunity unfolding that will become part of my legacy. With nothing but respect for you, I wish you the best in your next matchup and look forward to watching you further compete.”

For Cruz, the bout was to be his first since December 2016 when he suffered the first defeat of his UFC career to Cody Garbrandt.

Originally, he had planned to return earlier as he was booked to face Jimmie Rivera in December 2017 but injury removed him from that one as well.

John Lineker also happened to fight on the same card as Cruz when Cruz last made the walk. For the Brazilian, he would lose to TJ Dillashaw by unanimous decision. Since then he’s won two in a row over the likes of Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera and Brian Kelleher.

on 12/14/2018