Jimmie Rivera and former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz are slated for a fight this coming December at UFC 219.
Rivera is excited for the chance to face the former champion and he is also shocked that Cruz accepted the fight to begin with.
“F-ck yeah. I am super shocked,” Rivera said to Bloody Elbow. “I think the biggest thing was they must’ve gave him something good, or they told him that’s the only way. I don’t know. I heard that he wanted to take the fight, which I was super surprised (about). I’m just happy; I’m happy he took it so I can go in there and whoop some ass.”
Cruz is competing for the first time since he lost the UFC Bantamweight Title to Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 last December.
The bantamweight prospect also realizes there was a true lack of opponents for him to fight right now when you consider his ranking.
“Who else am I gonna fight?” he asked. “It’s either Cruz or a title shot. I’m willing to wait (for) that. I love fighting, but teaching is my first passion. So if I have to wait, it doesn’t hurt my pocket at all.”
UFC 219 takes place on Saturday, December 30 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with no main event announced at this time. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
