Dominick Cruz’s bantamweight belt is again under threat. Rather than setting up a rematch with Urijah Faber, as urged by a section of the fans, the promotion is pitting the champion against Demetrious Johnson on October 1 – a beloved date for Jiu-Jitsu fans, being the birthday of the late Grandmaster Helio Gracie.
For the title defense Cruz (19w, 1l) has been working on his Jiu-Jitsu at Lloyd Irvin’s academy. “I feel I’m getting better at Jiu-Jitsu with every day. It’s an extremely important art in MMA,” remarked Dominick.
Demetrious (10w, 1l) has won five of his past outings by submission and is coming off a win over famed Carlson Gracie disciple Miguel Torres. The fight is on the card for UFC on Versus 6, in Washington DC.
UFC On Versus 6
Washington DC, USA
October 1, 2011
Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson
Stefan Struve vs. Pat Barry
Charlie Brenneman vs. Anthony Johnson
Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig
Paul Sass vs. Michael Johnson
Mike Easton vs. Jeff Hougland
Yves Edwards vs. Rafaello Oliveira
TJ Grant vs Shane Roller