- Joined
- Sep 9, 2013
- Messages
- 3,727
- Reaction score
- 352
Demetrious Johnson is widely considered one of the greatest fighters of this generation. Hate on his personality, his fighting style, but his status and dominance can't be questioned. He will go down as one of the all time greats in MMA history.
But once upon a time, he was dominated by The Dominator.
Before the fight with Cruz, I believe Demetrious was still a part time fighter. He was putting together a solid resume, beating Damacio Page, Kid Yamamoto, and Miguel Torres.
Then the Cruz fight. Cruz completely dominated DJ, wall to wall. DJ did threaten at times with his striking, but that was quickly stifled by Cruz's size and wrestling. Cruz rendered DJ ineffective and completely battered him. People wanted to see DJ in a superfight against a dominant BW, and there it was early in his career.
After that, Demetrious would move down to FLW and (aside from the close fight with McCall), put together one of the best winning streaks in UFC history, defending the FLW belt a record 11 times, beating his opponents in impressive fashion. Though people called him boring, he was finishing fights. Maybe not in the fashion many would expect, but he would wear on his opponents before finally pulling off the finish.
In his wake would be the bodies of fighters like Joseph Benavidez, previous to DJ the uncrowned champ and perennial #2 in the division, John Dodson, one of the most explosive and physically gifted a fighters we will ever see, and Henry Cejudo, Olympic champion and current Champ-Champ.
Looking back, before the Cruz fight, there was no way we could see the dominant champion and all time p4p great that Demetrious would become. Now, knowing what we know, does Dominick Cruz get the proper respect for being the only fighter to ever completely dominate Demetrious Johnson?
Is this fight overlooked in the big picture of MMA history? With all the talk of TJ being the greatest BW of all time, is Cruz being overlooked? Should this win over DJ elevate Cruz's legacy more than it currently does? Does that win establish Dominick Cruz as the greatest lighter weight fighter in MMA history? Would this fight play out any differently if it were to happen today?
But once upon a time, he was dominated by The Dominator.
Before the fight with Cruz, I believe Demetrious was still a part time fighter. He was putting together a solid resume, beating Damacio Page, Kid Yamamoto, and Miguel Torres.
Then the Cruz fight. Cruz completely dominated DJ, wall to wall. DJ did threaten at times with his striking, but that was quickly stifled by Cruz's size and wrestling. Cruz rendered DJ ineffective and completely battered him. People wanted to see DJ in a superfight against a dominant BW, and there it was early in his career.
After that, Demetrious would move down to FLW and (aside from the close fight with McCall), put together one of the best winning streaks in UFC history, defending the FLW belt a record 11 times, beating his opponents in impressive fashion. Though people called him boring, he was finishing fights. Maybe not in the fashion many would expect, but he would wear on his opponents before finally pulling off the finish.
In his wake would be the bodies of fighters like Joseph Benavidez, previous to DJ the uncrowned champ and perennial #2 in the division, John Dodson, one of the most explosive and physically gifted a fighters we will ever see, and Henry Cejudo, Olympic champion and current Champ-Champ.
Looking back, before the Cruz fight, there was no way we could see the dominant champion and all time p4p great that Demetrious would become. Now, knowing what we know, does Dominick Cruz get the proper respect for being the only fighter to ever completely dominate Demetrious Johnson?
Is this fight overlooked in the big picture of MMA history? With all the talk of TJ being the greatest BW of all time, is Cruz being overlooked? Should this win over DJ elevate Cruz's legacy more than it currently does? Does that win establish Dominick Cruz as the greatest lighter weight fighter in MMA history? Would this fight play out any differently if it were to happen today?
