Dominick Cruz out of UFC 219 fight against Jimmie Rivera
An unfortunate injury has sidelined former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and he has been forced out of his upcoming bout against Jimmie Rivera at UFC 219 on Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.
Sources close to the matchup confirmed the chance on Wednesday following an initial report from MMAFighting. Rivera also later confirmed the news via Twitter after Cruz apparently suffered a broken arm in training.
It appears @DominickCruz retired himself before i got to him. Next stop title shot. @TJDillashaw don’t try to hide behind @MightyMouseUFC
— Jimmie Rivera (@JimmieRivera135) November 9, 2017
The injury not only knocks Cruz out of his fight on Dec. 30 but that means he won’t be returning until sometime in 2018, which means he will be out of action for over a year after fighting three times in 2016.
As for Rivera, there’s no word yet on a potential replacement or if he’ll want to remain on the UFC 219 card without a top named opponent.
As he sits at No. 3 in the rankings, Rivera seems to be knocking on the door for a title shot but the UFC may still want him to get one more win before offering him a chance to face new champion T.J. Dillashaw.
UFC 219 also remains without a main event as the card sits just seven weeks away.
