Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz returns to action after a prolonged break: he has not fought since UFC 207 in December of last year, where he lost his title to current champion Cody Garbrandt.
Dominick Cruz, 32, will look to recover after a clear defeat against Garbrandt. It was his first loss in 13 fights. Previously, he had suffered a submission loss to Urijah Faber at WEC 26 in 2007.
Jimmie Rivera, his opponent, has won 20 consecutive fights, with the last five being in the UFC. His last defeat -and only one as a professional- dates back to November 2008. Just last September, he became the only bantamweight fighter to defeat Urijah Faber in a non-title fight. In his last fight, 'The Terror' defeated Tomas Almeida by unanimous decision.
The winner of this fight will possibly be the next challenger to the throne.
UFC expects this event to be one of the biggest of the promoter so far this year. Although they have not announced the main event, the mixed martial arts company has confirmed a women's fight: Cynthia Calvillo against former champion Carla Esparza in the strawweight division. Also, fighter Louis Smolka will face Matheus Pereira.