Dominick Cruz says UFC champion Ciryl Gane not to blame for fouls

Dominick Cruz says Ciryl Gane is being falsely accused of cheating.

UFC heavyweight champion Gane (14-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) inadvertently poked Tom Aspinall in the eyes during their title fight at UFC 321 last October, which resulted in multiple eye surgeries for the Brit. Aspinall opted to vacate his belt after not being cleared for competition, which led to Gane’s promotion as undisputed champion.

Former two-time UFC bantamweight champion Cruz came to Gane’s defense regarding the eye pokes controversy when talking about it with fellow former UFC champ T.J. Dillashaw.

“This is my take on Ciryl Gane poking eyes: I haven’t had a lot of eye pokes in my career. I haven’t had a lot of groin shots in my career,” Cruz said on his “Love & War” podcast. “I always said if you can poke me in my fcking eyes, I’m doing something wrong. You can punch me in my head. Trying to hit my head is so fcking hard. If you could poke me in the eye, that’s my problem. So we (Dillashaw) agree on that, and I think that’s why he’s not a cheater.”

Gane also received criticism for his TKO win over Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250. Pereira said Gane struck him numerous times in the back of the head during the fight-ending sequence, and went off on referee Herb Dean.

“I don’t think he is (a cheater),” Dillashaw said. “It’s gotten blown out of the water since the Pereira fight. Obviously everyone is a Pereira fan. They want him to win, and they want to call the illegal blows. It’s like, he wasn’t going for it on purpose, and Pereira’s moving his head as he’s hitting him. I think Herb Dean is unfortunately catching a lot of flack, as well. It’s so crazy to go to a fight and everyone boo Herb Dean. I feel bad for the guy. I don’t think (Gane is) a purposeful cheater at all.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dominick Cruz says UFC champion Ciryl Gane not to blame for fouls