Dominick Cruz criticized the early stoppage of the UFC 323 co-main event due to Alexandre Pantoja‘s arm injury, arguing fighters should have the choice to continue despite injuries, and suggesting the referee acted prematurely.
Dominick Cruz is sticking to his guns about the UFC 323 co-main event. He believes it could’ve continued despite the abrupt stoppage.
In a shocking twist, Joshua Van snagged the flyweight title when Alexandre Pantoja suffered a freak arm injury. Cruz quickly took to Twitter, questioning if referee Herb Dean halted the fight too soon.
“I wish that Van vs. Pantoja fight was allowed to keep going,” Cruz tweeted. “It should be up to us fighters if we want to continue. We train hard for these moments. Fighters often pop dislocated arms back in and keep going.”
Cruz’s remarks sparked a wave of criticism and confusion. Pantoja seemed to accept the stoppage without much fuss. His team is already eyeing a rematch with Van.
On his podcast, Love & War, Cruz defended his tweet. “It sounds crazy, probably,” he admitted. “But as a fighter, I saw Pantoja shaking his head, like, ‘I’m alright, I’m alright.’”
He clarified, “I’m not saying he’s okay. He could be messed up. Maybe he’s just upset it ended like that. But he seemed to signal he was fine.”
Cruz shared other instances of fighters overcoming injuries mid-fight. “I’ve dislocated my shoulder in practice,” he said. “Once it’s back, the pain drops. I’ve seen fighters win with broken bones.”
He recalled Urijah Faber’s fight against Jens Pulver. “Faber broke both hands and still won. The ref saw Pantoja’s injury and stopped the fight before he could even try to recover.”
Cruz argues Pantoja should’ve had the choice. “Give him a second. Maybe Van would’ve finished him, but he didn’t get the chance to fight back.”
Cruz is no stranger to criticizing stoppages. At UFC 249, he famously disagreed with a call against him. It’s a grudge he still holds.
He questions Dean’s decision at UFC 323. “What if Pantoja had snapped it back in and continued? What stories would we tell about his resilience?”
Cruz sees these moments as opportunities for greatness. “The ref, scared of the injury, took that away,” he concluded.