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Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz faces Casey Kenney this weekend on the preliminary card of UFC 259.
If there is one person that Cruz doesn’t want officiating his bout, that person would be Keith Peterson, and Cruz has requested through the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) that Peterson not officiate said bout.
“I made the request, and you hope the commission can honor your request. But when it all comes down to it, they run things, right?” Cruz said at a pre-fight news conference (via MMA Junkie). “They have control over everything.”
Cruz and Peterson have a sordid past, which began when Cruz accused Peterson of an early stoppage in his fight against two division UFC champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 249. Cruz also claimed that Peterson smelled like “alcohol and cigarettes” before the title fight took place.
The former bantamweight champion also says that UFC Vice President Of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner has indicated to him that Peterson will not be the official for his bout on Saturday Night.
“(UFC vice president of regulatory affairs) Marc Ratner alluded he was able to make that possible for me,” Cruz said. “It’s not that I hate this guy or anything. This is a business thing, and I did not feel like he was doing his just. There are plenty of refs. I’ve never had an issue with any other ref in the history of my career – before the fight started. I had an issue with him before the fight started in the locker room. So that’s what made me stand by the fact that I’d prefer another ref.”
