It is mid-afternoon Wednesday, and by any measure of the word, Dominick Cruz should be exhausted. Instead, he is annoyed. The reigning UFC bantamweight champion touched down in Brasilia six hours ago for the first of what could be many busy weeks to come in his new role as UFC color commentator, but already he has encountered a problem: the internet in his hotel room drags like a heavyweight in high altitude. With a schedule as swamped as his, any time spent waiting is as good as time wasted. There is work to be done.
"I have to study all these UFC Fight Pass prelim guys who there's no film on," Cruz says, flipping through the UFC Fight Night 95 undercard.