Media Dominick Cruz Footwork Appreciation Thread

elwani said:
I would also define "point fighting" as just "gaming the system", which to me means if you took away the rules and points, you would never win in a "real" fight using a "point fighting" method.

But that's exactly why I disagree that this is "point fighting". This is actually a great way to fight for real, especially against larger opponents. It ensures you won't get hit while constantly hitting them. In my own experience (boxing), you actually wear them out pretty quickly the heavier they are.

Again, keep in mind while Cruz hasn't knocked many people out, most fighters at bantamweight don't knock that many people out. It may have more to do with his weight than this style of fighting.
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Don’t know why tactics against larger opponents applies here as mma has weight classes. Also Cruz is taller than all of his opponents. As for the lack of knockouts at 135 that is certainly true but at least there’s times in most of the other fights where they come close to a finish. Don’t get that often from Cruz.
It looks like more of a sparring session than a fight.
 
suizuri said:
Great thread idea and this is an honest question: Can someone please enlighten me on why this is not at risk of running into a straight right from the opponent?
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You are ducking your head to the extreme left of your opponent to the far outside of their right hand. If they threw a straight right, it would go past the right side of your head.

Another reason why it is hard for them to hit you with the right is that your head is moving into their right so that it's very close to their right arm before it sails past it. This smothers their right hand and does not give them room to punch.

In my experience at least, it is true that if you do not duck far enough to your left and do not move into them, almost anyone's reaction is to hit you with the right, and they will succeed.
 
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Can't stand the guy. Bounces around like a tweaker and doesnt even try to finish. TJ Dillashaw is much more impressive.
 
Let's keep the appreciation going!

A simple but reliable maneuver, step out and duck left, they shuffle left (I reuse a gif from @dawzz 's post as it falls under this category).

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It's a shame he was so ballistic on his feet his knees couldn't keep up. Wish he'd tightened up his punches too.
 
gondo said:
1 sub, 14 decisions and 7 by tko. Last ko was in 2014 which I’ll admit was an impressive performance after a long layoff and then another wide gap back to 2009. Sorry but it’s point fighting. Always liked Fabers comment about mma being as close to a legal death match as you can get and Dom has never come close to killing anyone. It’s not entirely true but he couldn’t have said it to a more appropriate person.
Again it’s nothing against him it certainly works but it’s hard to be a fan of someone that rarely finishes someone. It’s why I’m not much of a GSP fan anymore. I watch mma for fighters not athletes that game the system.
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He would have killed Takeya Mizugaki.
 
gondo said:
. That was the fight I mentioned in 2014. Also said Fabers comment fits Cruz better than any other fighter.
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Nah it fits that boring ass fighter Jimmie "El Snoozer" Rivera better he is the definition of pointfighting just stands still and waits for you to come so he can win some points by throwing his left and right
 
gondo said:
Lol I agree I’ve never been a fan of Faber but that was his 42nd fight and he wasn’t able to take punishment like he used to. It happens to all fighters that have long careers.
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Even though he suffered 2 outta 3 of his T/KO losses earlier in his career...

Fact is Faber's chin never really seemed to go "out" as with most fighters. He was just caught on the button, simple as that. No excuses needed cuz it's not like Dom was able to finish it off anyways and he regained composure just as quick as always...if not quicker.
 
I think Dom’s great head movement & evasiveness has allowed for folks to overstate his footwork. I’ve seen it happen with a couple fighters actually.

But to me great footwork isn’t just predicated on taggin ya opponent & getting away (unless as stated above you’re fighting in an Olympic point system ). giving your opponent angles, gauging/controlling distance, making clean adjustments ,and setting up your counterpunching (the last two of which Dom doesn’t do exceptionally well at all).

I just think there are better examples of footwork in the sport. I know it’s unpopular to give Conor his flowers on here, but he’s one of them. Holly in the women’s division. Shit, even Dillashaw.
 
gondo said:
. That was the fight I mentioned in 2014. Also said Fabers comment fits Cruz better than any other fighter.
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You also thought he was point fighting. He fought Mizugaki, Dillashaw, and Garbrandt the same exact when he came back from his layoff. He can't help it if the people he's hitting have better chins than Mizugaki. He's looking for a finish he's just competing against the best of the best. Not to mention the way he fight he hardly ever really plants his feet to put any power behind his shots.
 
Man, some people having such a hard time finding appreciation. Guess the best thing to do is keep piling on the evidence!

This is a duck left followed by a pivot or bump left, creating a new angle for attack.

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And its mirror, duck right followed by a pivot or bump right.
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Ugliest shit in MMA, and I've seen what GDR looks like.
 
mb23100 said:
TJ Dillashaw is much more impressive.
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You mean Cruz lite?

The guy who copied Cruz?

The guy who lost to Cruz even as Cruz was exiting from his prime?

The guy whose nickname is an organism without feet?
 
GamebredShango said:
I think Dom’s great head movement & evasiveness has allowed for folks to overstate his footwork. I’ve seen it happen with a couple fighters actually.

But to me great footwork isn’t just predicated on taggin ya opponent & getting away (unless as stated above you’re fighting in an Olympic point system ). giving your opponent angles, gauging/controlling distance, making clean adjustments ,and setting up your counterpunching (the last two of which Dom doesn’t do exceptionally well at all).

I just think there are better examples of footwork in the sport. I know it’s unpopular to give Conor his flowers on here, but he’s one of them. Holly in the women’s division. Shit, even Dillashaw.
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Not sure how you can separate evasiveness and head movement from footwork? The first and probably the biggest part of evasiveness is footwork. Even head movement often has its basis in footwork. A lot of times your head is moving because your feet are moving. Even if you are just bending your neck or upper body, often you are able to do so only because you've set your feet to catch the weight or create balance.

I agree though that Cruz does not often look to counter in the traditional sense. He's looking to draw your punch with his movement, then hit you at the same time in the same movement. On the other hand, Cruz is all about creating angles to attack from.

Holly with better footwork? Com'on, now I know you're just fucking around.
 
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