For years, it was considered a given that to beat Cruz you need to finish him. Submit or KO him. Because outpointing Cruz is as good as playing a chess match against a Grandmaster. Dominick Cruz is a battle computer. His ability to remain calm and calculated in a sport that is filled with chaos and, at times, unchecked aggression, just goes to show how well conditioned Cruz is mentally.
Believe it or not, fighters are very intelligent beings. They train about 6-8 hours a day, at least 5 days a week. They are required to be disciplined with their diet, workouts, skills training, etc. Even their social life is affected by their training schedules and strenuous workout routines.
The result of so much pressure often manifests itself in fatigue- not only of the physical variety but mental as well. Fighters are human, after all, and almost all fighters, sooner or later, succumb to this steady routine of hard training.
In layman’s terms, they ‘break’, just like we all do from time to time. That, right there, is where Cruz is different from the others.
Dominick Cruz is regarded by many as one of the most cerebral fighters in MMA. He truly is a machine and a workhorse. When he fights opponents, he doesn’t simply fight them. He analyses them, he observes them, he studies them. He calculates the odds of what their next move is going to be. He battles an opponent like a computer would battle a human.
He has ice flowing through his veins. No matter what his opponent says, it doesn’t faze him. He trucks on, without fear, without doubt. While his opponent is all riled up from the adrenaline rush of the fight, Cruz is in a Zen-like state.
He can beat his opponent well before they enter the cage with his sophisticated brand of intelligent pre-fight trash talk. Mind you, sophisticated trash talk is a rarity in a fight or an argument, let alone combat sports. Cruz is a genius at playing mind games.
This just goes to show that Cruz practices what he preaches. Cruz’s mantra has always been ‘Mind, Body and Spirit’, meaning that a true martial artist trains not only his body (fitness, skills, etc), but also places equal importance on training and strengthening one’s mind and soul.
Being mentally strong and having an unbreakable spirit is just as essential as having a disciplined ‘Strength and Conditioning’ and ‘Skill Development’ training schedule. So, the question remains – how did Agent Smith and his clones finally manage to beat Neo at his own game?
Cruz prided himself on the fact that his movements in the cage are Neo-like. He is Neo and the cage is the Matrix. Most of his prominent opponents were TAM fighters. In the lead up to UFC 207, Cruz referred to them as clones. Clones of Faber, to be precise and clones that Cruz has comfortably beaten throughout the past decade.
He also claimed that Garbrandt was the same. Just another TAM clone. However, a couple of things stood out about Garbrandt. Differences between him and most of Cruz’s previous opponents. Firstly, Garbrandt’s KO power as evidenced by his high KO ratio and his beautiful KO win over Brazilian BW prospect, Thomas Almeida.
Secondly, his footwork and solid boxing foundation. Cody Garbrandt was more powerful than any other opponent that Cruz had ever faced, and that is a telling sign, in itself. The list of Cruz’s previous opponents includes names like the aforementioned Faber, Dillashaw, Johnson, etc. Big names. Elite fighters.
Naturally then, before the fight at UFC 207, many MMA experts had predicted that if there is any way that Garbrandt wins, it would be by a flash KO. Because winning a decision against Cruz is nearly impossible. That is just how technical and slick Dominick Cruz has been over the years.
Majority of the MMA pundits leaned towards Cruz winning on the scorecards and retaining his BW title than Garbrandt becoming the new champion. Little did they know that Garbrandt and his coaches at TAM had an ace up their sleeve.
