Cruz has GSP level Grappling/Timing and is the best Striker ever in MMA

[DocK]

I'm always impressed by the timing on Cruz's takedowns. Underrated part of his game.

 

[fighter1234]

Anderson Silva is the best striker of all time in any combat sport.

How do you figure this? Are you discounting every boxer in history because of their inability to throw kicks? Silva has atrocious boxing and defense.

Mayweather is known for his impenetrable defense more than anything.

However a lot of people think Floyd is actually 48-1. Early in his career he fought a guy and the stats were heavily in the guys favor, the lederman card and both announcers knew he had lost, and Floyd got the decision anyway. People think it was his introduction to fixed boxing. I'll have to remember which fight it was.

FYI you can still win a boxing match with inferior stats. I had floyd winning 5 of the first 6 rounds and 1 or 2 of the later rounds. However the rounds that Castillo won were more one sided than the ones Mayweather won.

 

[theincognito]

Cruz isn't a striker or grappler but a true MMA fighter. Not in the traditional sense which is being good everywhere/well rounded - he literally mixes martial arts. It's all about synergy. Everyone who fights like that is a top fighter. When more fighters start doing this, well rounded fighters and specialists are done.

 

[Blayt7hh]

Man that hype job they did on him when he came back against TJ really did a number on some of you

 

[ElLunico]

Lol he is not the best striker in MMA not even close. Cruz best attribute is his super high fight IQ. A quality most top fighters possess.

 

[rmongler]

Jeebus on a T-Rex... where does this come from? You think Cruz could take his unorthodox, puzzlefest to pro kickboxing or boxing and succeed at highest levels? Not a chance. Just because he's created a highly effective, chaotic style that MMA fighters cannot solve does not equate to elite world class. It means he's created a magnificient anamoly - one that will likely be solved unless he retires with the strap.

There are guys in mma with good boxing, good muay thai, good karate.

There are guys with good wrestling, good judo, good sambo.

There are even guys who have good standing in two or more of these individidual arts.

But very few guys actually use a synthesis, of what habits that go into being succesful in these different sports, that do work and dont work in mma, to use an organic whole. Even in the guys who are multitalented, you can tell, they have a 'striking' mode, and a 'takedown' mode, and you can see when they switch between the two. Few have the game that can give you both looks at the same time, and that is the unique style that does not exist in these other sports that makes for success in the sport and ruleset of mma.

Edgar can do it, gps could do it, once upon a time, fedor could do it. But id say right now cruz is doing it better than anyone. Its not boxing, its not wrestling, its mma, and hes the best at doing mma.

There are a lot of talented guys, say, in the top ten of Glory. If any of them had decided to do mma instead im sure theydve done very well. But what they would be doing to do well would look a lot like what cruz, edgar, or gsp do.

76% strikes defended, highest the history of the sport, against multiple top ten guys. Those numbers dont lie.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

His striking is so bad thst it's perfect.

He somehow manages to put it sll together and outclasses everyone he fights.

His style is so crazy that it's perfect and fluid. Cruz is near impossible to train for. I like that guy a lot

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

As the biggest TJ fan in here...
Aldo?
Holloway?
Conor?
Moraes?
Dantas?

Cruz would destroy aldo any point of his career. He would out class him everywhere.


I wanna see Cruz fight Conor

 

[dc007]

Bullshit Cruz lit him up. I get so sick of sherdog acting like that was some sort of Cruz master class. That fight was as close as a fight can be & neither fighter lit the other up.

Cruz seriously won 4 rounds. TJ kept missing and Cruz connected. I don't care that so many of you don't like Cruz because he's a dick but he's way better than TJ and I like TJ a lot.

 

[Sudoistehgoat]

...and people want to deny goat status

No

 

[superpunch]

That's true but, like Cain and Shogun, parts of his physical talent are the bottom of the barrel. He has glass knees. So, he'll only be able to keep that up for another fight or 2 before he gets injured and then turns into a shell of his former self.

Little things like that are what separate the gatekeepers from the elite and the elite from the champions and the champions from the GOATs.

 

[BigNuggetIce]

Cruz seriously won 4 rounds. TJ kept missing and Cruz connected. I don't care that so many of you don't like Cruz because he's a dick but he's way better than TJ and I like TJ a lot.

Cruz is my fave BW other than maybe Michael McDonald. He didn't win 4 rounds. That fight was as close as a fight can be.