As the UFC prepares to kick back into gear for their first event of the year this weekend, the promotion has been busy announcing fights for a number of their scheduled events in the opening quarter of 2025, including the reemergence of a former titleholder at bantamweight .
Dominick Cruz Returns After Long Layoff
Once this Saturday’s Apex card (headlined by Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas) is in the history books, a succession of star-studded line-ups await fans over the next six weeks.
Merab Dvalishvili, Umar Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Armen Tsarukyan, Israel Adesanya, Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland will all fight inside the Octagon before the UFC lands in Seattle for a Fight Night event on February 22nd.
Following the announcement that former two-weight world champion Henry Cejudo (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) will take on Song Yadong (21-8-1 MMA, 10-3-1 UFC) in the main event of that card, news also broke this week that another former champion Dominick Cruz (24-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will also be in action on the same night.
The former WEC and UFC bantamweight champion will square off against fellow veteran Rob Font (21-8 MMA, 11-7 UFC) in the co-main event, two-and-a-half years after his last fight when he was knocked out by Marlon Vera in August of 2022.
Rob Font will fight Dominick Cruz at #UFCSeattle on February 22nd. (first rep. @MikeCoppinger) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN #UFC2025 #CoMainEvent pic.twitter.com/3XXWgSZZT4
— Marcel Dorff 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) January 7, 2025
Former Champion Dominick Cruz Has Bounced Back From Long Layoffs Before
“The Dominator” was removed from the UFC’s bantamweight rankings in November due to inactivity but had always maintained his plans to return for “one last dance” inside the Octagon.
Dominick Cruz is no stranger to making the walk to the Octagon after a long layoff. The 39-year-old became the inaugural UFC bantamweight champion following the company’s purchase of the WEC, but after defending his title twice against Urijah Faber and Demetrious Johnson, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
After his knee rejected the cadaver ligament he received in the surgery, Dominick Cruz was forced to go under the knife a second time, and not wanting to hold up the division, he vacated his title to focus on his recovery.
A torn groin muscle further delayed his absence, but when he finally returned almost three years after his previous bout, he reminded UFC fans the world over just how good he was. A spectacular first-round finish over Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 178 earned him an immediate title shot, and Cruz went on to dethrone then-champion T.J Dillashaw before defending the belt against his old rival Faber.
Battle Of The Bantamweight Veterans
Standing across the Octagon from Dominick Cruz will be 37-year-old Rob Font. The Boston native returned to winning ways in October when he picked up a decision victory over Kyler Phillips at the UFC Apex, a result that snapped a difficult streak in which he lost four out of five fights between 2021-2023.
Font debuted in the UFC back in 2014, picking up a first-round knockout win over George Roop at UFC 175. He may never have reached the dizzying heights of title contention but he has racked up some impressive victories throughout his UFC tenure over some stellar opponents such as Cody Garbrandt, Marlon Moraes and Sergio Pettis.
UFC Seattle goes down at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on February 22nd. Check out the full line-up below:
- Henry Cejudo (16-4) vs. Song Yadong (21-8-1) Bantamweight
- Dominick Cruz (24-4) vs. Rob Font (21-8) Bantamweight
- Macy Chiasson (10-3) vs. Ketlen Vieira (14-4) Bantamweight
- Edson Barboza (24-12) vs. Steve Garcia (17-5) Featherweight
- Brendan Allen (24-6) vs. Anthony Hernandez (13-2) Middleweight
- Ibo Aslan (14-1) vs. Ion Cutelaba (18-10-1) Light heavyweight
- Curtis Blaydes (18-5) vs. Rizvan Kuniev (13-2-1) Heavyweight
- Islam Dulatov (11-1) vs. Adam Fugitt (10-4) Welterweight
- Melsik Baghdasaryan (8-2) vs. Jean Silva (14-2) Featherweight
- Modestas Bukauskas (16-6) vs. Raffael Cerqueira (11-1) Light heavyweight
- Mansur Abdul-Malik (7-0) vs. Antonio Trocoli (12-5) Middleweight
