Did cruz beat Dj because of his size or skill?

[3sumrock]

I think is combination of both.

 

[Sapphorous]

Both.

 

[BTard]

Hmmmm. I'm undecided.

 

[Thaijitsu612]

Both. Dj wasn't many levels below his current skill level I think.

 

[Joey Sangfroid]

Size and wrestling

 

[Ares Black]

Obviously both.

 

[Perrichet]

Both but DJ was getting the better of the stand-up so Cruz simply bullied him with his wrestling

 

[Erratic]

I think is combination of both.

Cruz is alot harder to beat than 23 year old Ray Borg.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Just imagine Cruz’s career if he wasn’t injured so damn much.


He’s like Ken Griffey Jr... poor bastards got the screw job. Cain also.

 

[Flex Plexico]

A lot of it was size, IMO


I’d say MM has improved a lot more than Dom since then


Should rewatch that fight soon


I remember that fight being whizzer CITY

 

[Phisher]

Both. Dj wasn't many levels below his current skill level I think.

The fuck? MM got a gift draw against UC in his next fight after the Cruz loss. He was nowhere near where he is now.

 

[SuperNerd]

It's both. He used his advantage.

Cruz almost doubled his highest TD total in a single fight, in this performance.

 

[KevinLee]

I think is combination of both.

Both. You answered your own question.

 

[Daniel_LaRusso]

Did Brad Pickett beat MM due to size or skill?

 

[3sumrock]

Did Brad Pickett beat MM due to size or skill?

Obviously size

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Despends on if you differentiate exerience and skill.

Cruz had dedicated his life to MMA long before the DJ fight. DJ on the other hand was still a part timer before this fight. He worked a full time job and only trained twice a week. This was his first fight after quiting his job to be a full time fighter.

Skill wise DJ was definately the better striker as he clearly edged out the stand up in that fight. However, he didn't have nearly enough time to flesh out his ground game. Cruz recognized that and capitalized. While DJ was nearly impossible for Cruz to hold down, he could not stop the much bigger (by 20lbs give or take) Cruz from taking him down. The judges saw that and scored accordingly.

If DJ had more experience he could have won that fight but he took it too soon. Hindsight is a bitch. Nowadays I'd say DJ is certainly better than Cruz was in his prime, and adamantly believe he'd beat today's Cruz. His speed and technique are worlds beyond what they once were.

 

[Krev]

skill played a large part, he broke his hand into the first round and still won every single rounds

 

[LSU]

IIRC he took him down using knee taps whenever he wanted to, kind of like Conor did to Max.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Both. But Mighty Mouse is a catch wrestler, and thats how he wins his fights by good ole fashioned catch wrestling style, thats why he gets a lot of armlocks too. But Cruz beat him up in the wrestling exchanges and he stopped that catch wrestling style, and Mouse tried a few of those catch wrestling trips and Cruz was having none of it and tossed him, so that was not just size, he knew what he was trying to do.

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

Did Brad Pickett beat MM due to size or skill?

Size. Pickett was a career FW (fought as heavy as LW) going up against a proper FLW. Brad lost out in the striking and won by out muscling the smaller DJ on the ground.

Still a win is a win.