Who is Hans Molenkamp and why did Dominick Cruz call him out after UFC 259?

In a surprising turn of events, Dominick Cruz called out a certain Hans Molenkamp following his decision-win over Casey Kenny at UFC 259.

According to the 'About' information on his website, Hans Molenkamp is in charge of the combat sports division at Monster Energy, which is a major sponsor of UFC. The massive green 'M' logo of the company can be seen at the center of the octagon during every fight.

Hans is in charge of sponsorships for Monster. He is somewhat of a polarizing figure in the sport. Cruz has been with Monster for years. He was one of their first MMA fighters. Clearly, he isn’t a fan, though. https://t.co/e99BzvuANd

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 7, 2021

Hans Molenkamp also specializes in photography and owns a Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu-based equipment company called Triumph United. The company gained massive popularity when Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson wore shorts sponsored by Triumph United against Chuck Liddell.

The website also says that Hans Molenkamp is a Black Belt in BJJ and has participated in Muay Thai and Tudo competitions.

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What is Hans Molenkamp's relationship with UFC fighters?

From what Dominick Cruz said in his post-fight interview, he wanted a charity fight against Hans Molenkamp for holding fighters "hostage" of their contracts with Monster Energy and using that to take photos and videos with him, pretending they are close acquaintances.

Dominick Cruz wants a charity fight against Hans Molenkamp of @MonsterEnergy and calls him out for holding fighters hostage of their contracts & making them take photos/videos with him. Wow #UFC259

— Helen Yee (@HelenYeeSports) March 7, 2021

Dominick Cruz was backed by Cub Swanson on Twitter, where the UFC featherweight said it would be completely safe to assume that Cruz was speaking the truth.

I think it’s totally safe to assume

— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) March 7, 2021

Hans Molenkamp's social media is indeed full of pictures and video clips in which he appears with several UFC A-listers, such as Conor McGregor, Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal, Daniel Cormier, and the likes.

Going back a couple of years, UFC president Dana White himself opened up about Hans Molenkamp, detailing how he uses the fact that he is in charge of deciding which fighter gets sponsorship and who doesn't to persuade them to spar with him and take pictures.

Dana White commented under a post by Molenkamp where he claimed to know how Rob Dyrdek and Dana White became friends.

See Dana White's response below:

Dana White on Hans Molenkamp

After Dana White posted this comment, Hans Molenkamp deleted the post altogether. But screenshots of the same were already saved by eagle-eyed fans.