Dominick Cruz made his mark on history when he defended his Bantamweight title at UFC 199 against his longtime rival Urijah Faber. It was a spirited display from Faber, but “The Dominator” was always a step ahead. Cruz won and improved his record against “The California Kid” to 2-1.
The long-standing 9 year rivalry between the two pioneers of the division is thought to be over, after the third battle in the cage between these two went in Cruz’s way. It is rumoured that Faber has been considering retirement after the loss.
Cruz (22-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) defended the UFC Bantamweight title for the second time in his career (he was also the final Bantamweight titleholder of World Extreme Cagefighting or WEC) when he defeated Faber (33-9), via a unanimous decision at the pay-per-view event in The Forum in Inglewood, California.
This was Cruz’s second fight after returning to action, being years away from the cage due to injuries.
Here we look at 5 possible opponents for Dominick Cruz’s Bantamweight Title.
#5. T J Dillashaw
T J Dillashaw is currently #13 pound-for-pound in official UFC rankings and #1 in the official UFC Bantamweight rankings. He came to UFC after appearing on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller, where he represented Team Bisping. After an initial loss, he slowly but steadily moved up the ranks through the Bantamweight ladder.
His win over the then Bantamweight champion and top 5 pound for pound Renan Barão in May 2014 is considered one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.
During theDillashaw-Barão fight, UFC commentator Joe Ragan mentioned “Neo footwork” to describe the style of footwork that TJ Dillashaw has developed under the coaching of Duane Ludwig.
In layman’s language, it is the ability to strike efficiently from anywhere, rather than trying to line up everything up from the modified orthodox boxing stance that predominates MMA.
Which sounds cool, right?
And Dominick Cruz is also equally adept in this type of footwork in case you were wondering. In fact, it was he who originated this broken-rhythm footwork style in MMA and made it successful.
Needless to say, TJ Dillashaw and The Dominator have got their own history. Cruz, who was stripped of his title in January 2014 after suffering a series of multiple injuries ahead of his fight with Renan Barão, won it back from Dillashaw in January 17, 2016, in Boston, Massachusetts in UFC Fight Night 81.
Although the fight was pretty close, Cruz won by a split decision (49-46, 46-49, 48-47).
And it is safe to say that Dillashaw wasn’t impressed by that decision.
During the UFC Fight Night 81 post-fight conference, Dillashaw said, “You know, Dominick’s a very good fighter. I do feel like I have won the fight. You know, just pressure alone and controlling the Octagon and landing bigger strikes. I know he got a few takedowns, but I don’t really feel like they should be scored that great, three seconds control total.”
“It’s tough man. It’s a tough one to take. I definitely didn’t perform my best, either. I knew I maybe threw a little too hard…and thinking on it, yeah, I messed up. But I still, I still think I won that fight.”
Both Dillashaw and Cruz have a similar footwork based approach to the game and their fight reflected that. Yet the bad blood between the two doesn’t seem to have dissipated, leading to many believing that it is only a matter of time before they square off in the Octagon again.
#4. Raphael Assunção
Raphael Assunção is an extremely talented fighter whose overall game is based on a very sturdy defensive approach. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and trains out of Ascension Mixed Martial Arts in Atlanta, Georgia.
He has previously fought for the WEC and has notable wins over Jorge Masvidal, Joe Lauzon, Yves Jabouin, Mike Easton, Vaughan Lee, and T J Dillashaw. The notable losses in his career are against Urijah Faber and Diego Nuñes.
When the WEC ceased operations in late 2011, Raphael was signed by the UFC as a featherweight. He would lose his first fight to Eric Koch by brutal KO at UFC 128. He would drop to bantamweight after this fight.
In his 135 pound debut, he was able to earn a unanimous decision win over Johnny Eduardo but was out for six months after with a broken nose. He would continue his winning ways with three wins in less than a year over Issei Tamura, Mike Easton and Vaughan Lee.
He next fought TJ Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 29. In a very exciting and close back and forth fight, Raphael was able to pick the split decision victory.
The 33-year-old veteran had been on a tremendous seven-fight stretch of success before running into serious injury issues. He made it 7 in a row (and 7-0 total at Bantamweight) by defeating Bryan Caraway at UFC Fight Night 54.
This past year has seen some intriguing developments in the 135-pound landscape that have likely pushed the idle Assunção further back in the pack when it comes to his title pursuit.
Assunção tale of woe is a lengthy one. He had to turn down a title fight against Renan Barão at UFC 173 because of a rib injury sustained in his unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz. Assuncao’s pain proved to be Dillashaw’s gain as he secured gold with a stunning upset of “The Baron” in Las Vegas.
Dillashaw became an overnight star and then climbed the pound-for-pound ladder with a pair of dominant title defenses.
Assunçào was the last man to defeat Dillashaw before Cruz, as he eked out a hard-fought split-decision win in Brazil against Dillashaw at Fight Night 29. The entertaining back-and-forth battle produced the Fight of the Night.
It appeared a rematch was in the cards after Cruz tore his ACL in late December. Unfortunately, Assunçào would also announce that he’d broken his ankle during training and has been on the shelf since. He hasn’t fought since a dominant unanimous decision win over Bryan Caraway at Fight Night 54 in Canada.
While the Brazilian has 13 wins by knockout or submission in his 23 career triumphs, Assunção has only produced a pair of finishes during this impressive stretch. His workmanlike approach isn’t exactly crowd pleasing.
His condition is somewhat similar to that of light heavyweight contender Ryan Bader. Good enough to defeat top notch opposition, but not good enough to take a shot at the title.
But if he manages to get past Dillashaw. He might get that golden opportunity. And Assunção will give a hell of a fight to Cruz.
#3. Bryan Caraway
Bryan Caraway(#4 Bantamweight) defeated the much-hyped Aljamain Sterling in UFC Fight Night 88 and wants a shot at the title in UFC 201 in Cleveland. The “Kid Lightning” is very much confident about his chances and so he turned down a chance to fight Cody Garbrandt.
His game is also based on a great defense and is also tactically sound. He has avoided 80% of takedowns and 57% of the strikes. And his strike landing percentage is 34%. He has a penchant for the rear naked choke and has won many fights due to that.
In the fight with Aljamain Sterling, after losing the first round, Caraway rallied the next two rounds and won the fight via split decision. The decision was largely seen as incorrect by fans, who, when polled, generally agreed the decision for Caraway should have been unanimous.
The judge who scored in favour of Sterling, Adalaide Byrd, is well known in boxing as well as MMA for her highly questionable decisions.
Although the Kid Lightning is ready to fight the Dominator and might get a shot at it if he continues to impress, a fight with The Dominator seems less likely.
#2. Cody Garbrandt
He is young, he is raw and he is yet to be defeated in MMA. Cody ‘No Love’ Garbrandt is 9-0 in MMA (4-0 in UFC). And when he is touted by none other than Urijah Faber to be the next possible opponent to challenge the Dominator, you have got to believe the hype.
His no-nonsense attitude adds color to the game. Garbrandt is a vicious striker, and most of his victories have come from knockouts. Only one of his four victories in UFC (against Henry Briones) has been decided via unanimous decision.
UFC Fight Night 88 showcased his true potential when he knocked out his opponent, Thomas Almeida in the first round. Almeida was also an undefeated prospect and Garbrandt earned a Performance of the Night bonus.
Before UFC, Garbrandt finished each of his opponents via knockout in less than 20 minutes. He is young, and he is destined for a big career.
The following excerpts are taken from his interview with Andrew Richardson of MMAmaia.com, prior to his maiden UFC fight against Marcus Brimage:“I feel very comfortable with this fight (against Brimage). I like that he has a lot of UFC experience. When I finish him, it will put me up where I belong.
“I’d show them no love and how I would fight. I don’t glove touch. I don’t shake hands. I’m in there to fight. We can be cool after the fight, but it’s all business from the weigh-in till my hand is raised at the end of the fight.”
And Garbrandt and Dominick Cruz have been already involved in a war-of-words.
Following the win against Faber at UFC 199, Cruz had an altercation with Garbrandt, who is also Faber’s teammate. Afterwards, Garbrandt told MMAFighting.com,”Really that’s it. I told him to polish up my belt, and he didn’t like it…I really can’t wait…I’ll break his nose. I’m already in the champ’s head.”
And Garbrandt is short tempered. He nearly got into a brawl with Connor McGregor in The Ultimate Fighter when McGregor called TJ Dillashaw a ‘snake’. Both Garbrandt and Cruz can get under each other’s skins. They have dissed each other on twitter before.
And a fight between these two is sure to generate headlines.
#1. Demetrious Johnson
Demetrious Johnson is the first and current Flyweight Champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and currently holds the longest active championship reign at 8 title defenses. At 5'3", he is also the shortest male fighter in the promotion.
Known for his quick striking and elusive movement, Johnson has also landed the most takedowns in UFC Flyweight history and holds the record for the latest finish in UFC history with a submission win at 4:59 of the fifth round against Kyoji Horiguchi.
He is also the only UFC fighter to record over 10 takedowns in three different fights. Espn.com, MMA Weekly, and various UFC personnel have called Johnson one of the greatest mixed martial artists the world has ever known. As of May 31, 2016, he is #2 in official UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
Johnson fought Cruz only once for the Bantamweight title on October 1, 2011 and lost in a unanimous decision. Both the fighters have enjoyed tremendous success in their now-different weight categories since. But if Johnson decides to step up his weight a division, then it will be a spectacle.
Known as one of the fastest fighters in MMA, Johnson is recognized for quick striking and elusive movement. He is noted for his ability to land fast punches and kicks to the head or body, then quickly escape an opponent's reach.
He is also known for his ability to counterstrike while standing within the pocket.
In addition to his striking, Johnson is trained in catch wrestling under Matt Hume, as demonstrated by his double wrist-lock submission of Chris Cariaso, and his final-second victory by armbar against Kyoji Horiguchi.
During clinches, Johnson has also utilized the Muay Thai plum while mixing in a series of elbows and knees.
A Johnson vs. Cruz super fight is certainly on the cards if Johnson decides to gain some weight. He has achieved everything in the Flyweight division. But it has its cons, too. Connor McGregor fought in a different weight category and got defeated by a seasoned Nate Diaz.
Both Cruz and Johnson are quick fighters and they both show a tendency to attack from improbable angles. Both fighters have a legitimate claim to be called the pound-for-pound number 1 fighter in the world.
The narrative is already set, but the question is, will the fight happen?
