Dominick Cruz had one of the strangest exclamations in recent memory after his victory at UFC 259.
At Saturday’s event, ‘The Dominator’ shot a two-stroke – the first losing streak of his 16-year career – with a unanimous nod over Casey Kenney. Instead of using his post-fight interview time to name his next UFC opponent, Cruz challenges Hans Molenkamp to a charity fight.
This left many fans watching at home scratching their heads and wondering who Molenkamp is and why it looks like Cruz had such a big meat with him.
Cruz suggested that Molenkamp, an employee of UFC sponsor Monster Energy, make unreasonable claims and possibly withhold bail if these claims are not met. At the evening’s press conference after the fight, Cruz expanded his meat with Molenkamp, explaining that although they have a working relationship, he feels that Molenkamp is misrepresenting his relationship with fighters to increase his reputation.
“He’s probably going to like him being so stuffy, to be honest, so that’s actually a benefit to him, so he should thank me,” Cruz said. ‘It was just that we’re in a day and time where you can – If I’m taking such a picture with Conor McGregor, I’m now Conor McGregor’s friend, right? If I take a picture with Dominick Cruz and let him comment on my page, we’re in a day and time where we seem to be friends. Well, I may be your friend, but you can not use me to have an influence as they put it. I’m not here to be used.
‘Look at my face, look at my body, I’m getting killed. So if you’re trying to force me and text me if I do not comment on your page, if I do not give you an interview, are you going to take what pays my bills? What do we do? Monster sponsors me, not you. It was a call because he calls himself a pro-fighter. He has a weight of a hundred pounds on me, and I can make it a win-win situation. Let’s do a charity event, Monster selects the charity and then we remove it. He says he has three pro fights, let’s prove it, put your money where your mouth is. You have a little, little guy who calls you to charity and not for something else. Why not?”
Cruz added that the problem with Molenkamp is not personal and that he is helping a charity to make money. The contract talk that raised eyebrows was also addressed by Cruz and he made it sound like he was not the only one in the UFC who had problems with Molenkamp.
“It’s not caught in a contract, it should force him to give it up, force him to raise it if I want to make money,” Cruz said. ‘Monster pays me, so equivalent will the UFC pay me? Yes. Does Dana White own the UFC? Yes. So when Dana White says, ‘Hey, go to my page and like my page’ – Dana White went to this guy’s page and said something. They ignored it as if it had not happened. So I’m not the first one to say something, Dana also said something, maybe ask him about it. ‘
When it was Dana White’s turn to step onto the podium on Saturday, the UFC president shared his opinion on the Cruz-Molenkamp situation.
“It’s all weird,” White said. ‘Is Hans a stupid man? Yes, he’s a very stupid man. But they are a sponsor. These guys are a sponsor, they are good sponsors, they pay a lot of money to these guys. Monster is one of those companies that really, really cares about people and that’s their business. They can sponsor whoever they want, they can run their business the way they want. It’s not like a work situation where you work for someone and you are not happy about the way you are treated. This is a surety contract. These guys can spend their money and run their business as they please and no one insures money from a sponsor. It is a privilege to receive money from a sponsor. So if you do not like the way they do business, do not do business with them.
“They were good to us. They were good for the sport and they were definitely good for the fighters. I understand that, he does not like him and some guys have a problem with him. It’s easy to figure out, but Monster as a company, they were solid, they could not be better. ‘
Although White was not asked if he would be interested in a possible charity match between Cruz and Molenkamp that was linked to the UFC, Cruz had already expressed the idea that White could help the fight.
“Dana, maybe you will,” Cruz said. ‘Maybe you can set up this charity event. He calls himself a pro-fighter, Hans, let’s go. ‘