DJ says he’d pick Merab over prime Cruz

[Aurelian]

i hate to say it but cruz is massively overrated. at 135 he would lose to petr yan, merab, umar, sandhagen, and he lucked out and got dillashaw before he adjusted to usada and barely won that. i think he was in his prime when he lost to cody garbrandt too

His prime ended when he was dealing with injuries that lead to him only having 1 fight in a 4 1/2 year span.

 

[xhaydenx]

"Ran rings around TJ for 5 rounds".

You seem to be implying that the fight wasnt close?
View attachment 1114469

Nah, it was close for sure, but it really was 5 rounds of Cruz running rings around TJ lol. Probably no one has done as many laps of the Octagon in a fight than Cruz did that night.

TJ landed 130 strikes but also missed 300. 430 strikes he threw. That's a fucking insane stat and it's not like TJ never had great accuracy.

TJ looked unreal. Still can't believe Cruz came back from 1 fight in 4 years and pulled it off. One of my fav fights ever. I watch it all the time.

 

[MMAMidwit]

His prime ended when he was dealing with injuries that lead to him only having 1 fight in a 4 1/2 year span.

I think he lucked out that way as far as his legacy because he's a "what if." But if you actually look at his attributes and his style, he would have lost to Barao back then for sure and even michael mcdonald would have beat him

 

[Aurelian]

I think he lucked out that way as far as his legacy because he's a "what if." But if you actually look at his attributes and his style, he would have lost to Barao back then for sure and even michael mcdonald would have beat him

He would have beat those guys most likely. He'd probably beat Cory and Yan too in his prime version pre injury. Merab and Umar are hard fights for anyone.

But I would pick Merab over Cruz too. Cruz is still a legend in the sport.

 

[HeadKickerV2]

Agree, all that fancy footwork would not be enough to deal with this tasmanian devil

 

[fjodor]

I don't see prime Cruz finishing Merab and he is not winnig a decision either I think. Merab is the BW GOAT at this point. He is the better fighter and he has the much better wins against way stiffer competition.

 

[sonhow]

It's hard to pick the winner between Merab's relentless takedown attempts that lead to an UD, and Dominick Cruz's shifty footwork that leads to an UD, but the fans will not be the winner

Reminds me of that old game where man was chasing a woman(Cruz chasing ud) while bear was chasing the man (Merab chasing Cruz)

 

[JustBleed69]

Cruz is still the BW GOAT based on his WEC/ UFC title defenses and wins over ranked opponents, however I think no BW ever so far beats this version of Merab.

 

[Gregoire1]

Cruz 55/45

 

[Portland8242]

I think anyone with half a brain does. I really don't think Cruz has the level of weaponry to stop Merab from manhandling him for 5 rounds.

 

[jeff7b9]

So a fighter got asked to pick between the guy he is currently training with and the guy who turned his face into a potato

And he picked the guy he is currently training with?

Cool.

Groundbreaking unpredictable shit right there

 

[Rampage_Jackson]

DJ should stick to analyzing 125 lb fights he's really mediocre at analyzing 135 lb fights

 

[SalvadorAllende]

LOL of course.

Dominick Cruz is the most overrated fighter out there. What is he going to do? Throw pillowfists and dance around Merab? lol. Merab is the worst matchup for him.. a guy who has no quit and would never stop coming forward.. he is also the better wrestler by a lot.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

What have you done for me lately, everyone winning now is the greatest thing since sliced bread, until next month when the next guy is winning and then he is. rinse and repeat + yawn.

 

[Luthien]

Everyone winning now is the greatest thing since sliced bread

At least @BroRogan is making his famous Germanic chili tonight

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

At least @BroRogan is making his famous Germanic chili tonight

True. @BroRogan is such a good cook, could probably open his own successful restaurant chin if he wanted too. Do you remember that time he mixed Temptations with tuna flakes? that was an incredible idea, one of the best.

 

[Luthien]

True. @BroRogan is such a good cook, could probably open his own successful restaurant chin if he wanted too. Do you remember that time he mixed Temptations with tuna flakes? that was an incredible idea, one of the best.

I could barely get my cheetos down after, barely So amazing

 

[Alpha_T83]

If Merab can beat the EPO allegations, then he's definitely the GOAT 135 pounder.

But that gas tank seems inhuman. Like Lance Armstrong inhuman.

 

[doggo]

Style wise its very tough fight for Merab
Cruz matches him anywhere.Pace and cardio as well while being a better striker
Cruz UD 48-47 at least

Same with TJ while bringing power to the table

Imagine Cruz with some extra pop in those punches ala TJ

 

[helltoupee]

i hate to say it but cruz is massively overrated. at 135 he would lose to petr yan, merab, umar, sandhagen, and he lucked out and got dillashaw before he adjusted to usada and barely won that. i think he was in his prime when he lost to cody garbrandt too

And 15 years from now, some newb will come along and say Merab or whoever your favorite fighter is, was overrated and not that good.

It happens the same way every time. People who weren't around at the time, look back at fighters and think they weren't ever that good, hence ignorant statements like "Cruz was massively overrated". It the same reason why every year we get a thread about "Fedor's legacy is a myth" or some shit, like there is right now.

You suffer from recency bias. Cruz was not "massively overrated" - that's ridiculous. You don't become a champion in the premiere fighting organization in the world by being "massively overrated".

Can't wait for you tell us next that the WEC was bush league because it wasn't "UFC bro".

Tell us more about how you recently got in to MMA without telling us you recently got in to MMA.