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I'm thinking Dominick Cruz has a decent chance to finish Cody Garbradnt
I give Garbrandt an outside chance in the early rounds, dudes' legitimately a great athlete (Chad Mendes level freak), extremely fast, decent footwork and a wrestling background. I wouldn't be surprised to see him catch Dom early, and even if he doesn't I think it's likely he could win the first round. Dominck Cruz is a great fighter and tactician, but he's the type of dude (like a smarter Condit) who is going to throw every feint he has in his arsenal at you and try to figure out what you like/don't like and he's going to exploit it down the stretch. I think Cody may surprise him early on, and I think Cody has the composure not to be too frustrated if he can't land cleanly early (like TJ was). In that regard I think it's a slim but not insignificant possiblity that Cody could win a close decision, something like 1,2 4 or 5 if his power and speed hold up over time
On the other side, Cody has never really been pushed in the UFC cardio and pace wise and Dominick is going to push him. I expect Cruz to fight similarly to the DJ fight, where he realizes he might be the slower guy in the ring (rare for him) and exploits his size and wrestling (he's probably not significantly bigger than Cody, but I think he'll be a little bigger come fight night) to equalize and push Cody. From that angle I wouldn't be surprised to see Dominick exploit openings in scrambles if Cody slows and we've seen in the Mizugaki fight that he will pounce if he sees blood in the water. I also think Dominick is improving, which is probably the most impressive part of his game, despite his age (a time when many guys are finished products) I saw a greater use of straight punches in both his fights with Uriah and TJ and I think that he has a sneaky straight right. For all the shit he gets for not finishing: Faber has a great chin, TJ was in there the whole fight, DJ is a freak of nature, Joey Benz has only been finished by DJ and Scott Jorgenson is tough as fuck (or at least was)
Which is more likely Sherdog?
Dom by finish or No Love getting the judges nod?
I give Garbrandt an outside chance in the early rounds, dudes' legitimately a great athlete (Chad Mendes level freak), extremely fast, decent footwork and a wrestling background. I wouldn't be surprised to see him catch Dom early, and even if he doesn't I think it's likely he could win the first round. Dominck Cruz is a great fighter and tactician, but he's the type of dude (like a smarter Condit) who is going to throw every feint he has in his arsenal at you and try to figure out what you like/don't like and he's going to exploit it down the stretch. I think Cody may surprise him early on, and I think Cody has the composure not to be too frustrated if he can't land cleanly early (like TJ was). In that regard I think it's a slim but not insignificant possiblity that Cody could win a close decision, something like 1,2 4 or 5 if his power and speed hold up over time
On the other side, Cody has never really been pushed in the UFC cardio and pace wise and Dominick is going to push him. I expect Cruz to fight similarly to the DJ fight, where he realizes he might be the slower guy in the ring (rare for him) and exploits his size and wrestling (he's probably not significantly bigger than Cody, but I think he'll be a little bigger come fight night) to equalize and push Cody. From that angle I wouldn't be surprised to see Dominick exploit openings in scrambles if Cody slows and we've seen in the Mizugaki fight that he will pounce if he sees blood in the water. I also think Dominick is improving, which is probably the most impressive part of his game, despite his age (a time when many guys are finished products) I saw a greater use of straight punches in both his fights with Uriah and TJ and I think that he has a sneaky straight right. For all the shit he gets for not finishing: Faber has a great chin, TJ was in there the whole fight, DJ is a freak of nature, Joey Benz has only been finished by DJ and Scott Jorgenson is tough as fuck (or at least was)
Which is more likely Sherdog?
Dom by finish or No Love getting the judges nod?
