“The company has reached out to me and they were very open-minded with me at the top,” Cruz told James Lynch. “...They reached out and they were very open-minded and they were hearing my side. I couldn’t really do that before. If you think about it, I’ve been with Monster seven-plus years and because of the person that I spoke about, if I was to talk to that person the way I did yesterday, I would have gotten a flood of text, a flood of calls like ‘What are you doing? Why are you talking to the bosses? You can’t be doing that, man, because then they start asking me questions.’ Like, why can’t I do that? So it was nice to get that call and it was nice to have that talk without hearing from that person.”
Monster Energy leadership is not the only person who has contacted Cruz regarding the situation. The former bantamweight champion says that Molenkamp also reached out to him after his post-fight interview, in a manner of speaking.
“That person has reached out to me but all he did was take a screenshot of our text message conversation before I did the post-fight interview,” Cruz said. “There was no words. It was just a screenshot of our conversation. So it was very passive aggressive, very his way of doing things. No communication just what does that even mean? He always pretends to be my friend to my face and then does shady things.”
It’s still unclear if there is a specific incident that prompted Cruz’s callout and thus far, Molenkamp has yet to comment on the situation, leaving us with only Cruz’s comments. And those comments, Cruz said, ended up making far more waves than he anticipated. For the former bantamweight champion, all of this was primarily supposed to be about turning something negative into something positive.
“I’m not angry at this person,” Cruz said. “To be angry would give him a lot of power over me. There’s none of that. It’s just like, this is wrong dealings man and it’s unprofessional and it’s actually illegal in some ways, how you’re treating us, so I’m here to stand for that because if it’s happening to me, I’m positive it’s happening to other fighters...
“I didn’t expect it to blow up like this. I just wanted to get - to me it’s a win-win. He’s gonna have a problem with me so let him get it out on me if he wants and charity wins. Like, legitimately. I fight people for a living. This isn’t new to me. When I fight somebody, I’m not mad at Casey Kenney, I don’t hate him. We’re fighting, this is what it is. He brags a lot about being that so he’s in the same boat now. Let’s give you the opportunity.”
It seems unlikely that an actual fight will come out of this situation but at least Cruz’s issues are being heard, and he’ll have no shortage of other opponents to choose from. At UFC 259, Cruz won a split decision over Casey Kenney, his first victory since 2016, reestablishing his position in the top-10 of the rankings.
[h=1]TOP STORIES[/h] Snub. Matt Serra retires as cornerman after feeling ‘a little disrespected’ by Aljamain Sterling’s UFC 259 snub.
Fighter Pay. Dana White: ‘I’ll bet a million dollars that Jake Paul loses this f*cking fight’ to Ben Askren; Paul responds.
No charges. DA declines to file charges in Oklahoma football player Spencer Jones’ bar brawl.
Correct. Anthony Smith believes referee should have made DQ call, not force Aljamain Sterling to decide if he could continue.
Good business. UFC 259 reportedly delivers 800,000 buys worldwide.
[h=1]VIDEO STEW[/h] UFC Vegas 21 Virtual Media Day.
What the Heck.
UFC 259 Fight Motion.
Best finishes from UFC Vegas 21 fighters.
Cooking with Volk.
[h=1]LISTEN UP[/h] UFC Unfiltered. Interviews with Eryk Anders and Darren Stewart.
[h=1]SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE[/h] Is this a saying I’m not familiar with or did RDA just go rogue?
The mistake of the black vulture is to believe that the cow is dead...
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) March 11, 2021
Wrasslin’.— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) March 11, 2021
Askren got celebs lining up opposite him.
Oh god did anyone who listened to @SnoopDogg commentary of the last fights think he has any understanding of boxing?? Bc he was totally clueless. Funny, but clueless. https://t.co/7XWM0IZ7LL
— Funky (@Benaskren) March 12, 2021
Can someone front me a million dollars?— Funky (@Benaskren) March 12, 2021
I don’t know about that bet on askren but what I will bet is a million on @thefrankmir beating Antonio tarver
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) March 11, 2021
Please tell me he’s not going to fight again.— malki kawa (@malkikawa) March 11, 2021
Angela Hill.
Boredom in the quarantine hotel before the weight cut makes you do things you’re not proud of. #ChickenHeadChallenge #PojectPAnge pic.twitter.com/NrZg88OxCb
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) March 11, 2021
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) March 11, 2021
[h=1]FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS[/h] N/A.
[h=1]FINAL THOUGHTS[/h] Thanks for reading, enjoy the fights, and see y’all on Monday.
[h=1]EXIT POLL[/h]
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let him know about it. Also follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.
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