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TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz square off against each other in what has all the markings of a technical masterpieceAfter the glitz that headlinedUFC 194 andthe grit that earmarkedUFC 195,UFC Fight Night 81 has crept up on us to rekindle our fight appetitesyet again,featuringwhat could be a Superfight to savouras reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw takes onformer Champion Dominick Cruz in an iconic headliner.For hardcore MMA fans, this fight could showcasethe very pinnacle of technical possibilities in the sport today; dazzlingfootwork, evasivestriking and masterfully executed takedowns allbeset with a frenetic pace throughout the5 rounds.A fight so rich in its nuancesthat any attempt to mentally speculate what could transpireleaves you with expectant jitters running down your spine and more questions than you started with on your mind.As the countdown to the encounter begins in earnest, here then are 5 reasons why every MMA fan is looking forward to TJ Dillashaw versus Dominick Cruz.
#1 The Crownless King
When he finally returned in September of 2014 from a near 3 year hiatus enforced by a succession of injuries, Dominick Cruz betrayed no signs of ring rust whatsoever, dispatching the Japanese veteran Takeya Mizugaki with relative ease in the first round.
However just when he seemingly laid to rest the pertinent question that was plaguing the MMA world – “How would Dominick Cruz’s body hold up?” – injury reared its inopportune head yet again as Cruz was further sidelined with another ACL tear, this time in his right knee.
It was certainly luck of the most rotten kind for a professional fighter, the type that would floor most people and have them slumping to their knees. However despite the innate sense of irony in that, it likely never appealed, just like the thought of quitting, to Dominick Cruz.
Now on his latest comeback trail, the former UFC Bantamweight Champion who was never displaced from the top of the food-chain seeks to reclaim his throne.
In the way of his conquest though, stands a largely evolved sport and a champion with his legitimacy at stake; with neither willing to yield.
#2 A Champion seeking legitimacy
In the public eye, much like Daniel Cormier’s predicament, there is a notion that the Championship Belt is just an ornament that sits pretty on Dillashaw’s shoulder and doesn’t entail quite the same gravitas as it ideally should.
Then again, had Jon Jones or in this case, Dominck Cruz not been in the picture, it probably would.
Which is why there is a salient argument to be made that this fight is perhaps more important for the Champion than it is for the challenger. If Dominick Cruz loses the fight, his staunch believers could easily cite ring rust and a horrendous bevy of injuries as alibis to scrap some clemency in the loss.
If TJ Dillashaw loses the fight however, the loss could not come at a more inauspicious time for him. Not only does it question the credibility of his brief title reign, but it would do nothing to dispel the brunt of ill-will that is already being channeled towards him for defaulting from Team Alpha Male.
#3 Stylistic Match-up
After much ado about stylistic comparisons between the two fighters, with Dominick Cruz as much claiming that TJ Dillashaw’s style is just an offshoot of his, this fight presents the perfect opportunity to lay the argument to rest once and for all.
While Dillashaw looked like a million bucks in his victories against Renan Barao, perhaps there is more than a smattering of truth in Cruz’s assertion that he only looked that good because Barao is primarily an old school, straight-line fighter – or “a stationary target”, in his words.
And as we are well aware, Dominick Cruz is anything but a stationary target.
Will the pioneer of incorporating extensive movement into his fighting style prevail against arguably one of the finest “new-age” fighters in MMA today?
Or will Dominick Cruz, in Angelina Jolie-esque fashion, cruelly fall prey to the very same bullet he curved, as it comes hurtling full circle towards his own head?
#4 Compelling Narrative
If the stakes for both men in this fight, not least the bearing it has on their respective legacies, is not reason enough for fans to tune in on January 17th , then Dominick Cruz’s verbal beatdown of TJ Dillashaw has certainly attached a must-watch narrative to it.
In a far more dulcet tone than compared to the brashness espoused by Conor McGregor, yet in an eerily effective manner, Dominick Cruz picked apart TJ Dillashaw in the Counterpunch Segment that aired after UFC 195.
The picture of serenity and composure himself, Cruz riled up Dillashaw to the extent where the champion was reduced to rudimentary sign language in retort while straining to hold his smile, and indeed demeanour, intact.
A supremely confident former champion, a pioneer and innovator on one side. A slightly ruffled reigning champion, if perhaps a little slower on the verbal draw – but certainly not inside the Octagon – on the other.
Only one will prevail when they clash. Could a movie script be more alluring?
#5 One more Superfight?
Looking past the obvious bragging rights that the victor can lay claim to, the outcome of this fight between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz has farther reaching implications that just the immediate destination of the Championship belt.
With Urijah Faber, the Alpha in Team Alpha Male and the only fighter to ever defeat Dominick Cruz waiting in the wings, there is a fight to be made regardless of who wins on January 17th.
With most of the MMA world privy to the bad blood that has recently brewed between Urijah Faber and TJ Dillashaw thanks to the latter’s move to Team Elevation, a fight to settle the scores could be on the card if the champion retains his title against Dominick Cruz.
Conversely, the eternal rivalry between Faber and Cruz could find resolution as well, should the challenger usurp the champion.
Either way, as Conor McGregor avowed on the back of his UFC 194 victory against Jose Aldo, options are indeed a good thing in the fight game.
