Dominick Cruz's Training Partner Says TJ vs Dominick Cruz 2 is Set for December

[Shaddows]

While I want Cruz to win, I think this time TJ gets it.
He is improving while Cruz has been hampered by injuries.

Last fight was close. this one I feel it won't be.

 

[youllneverwalkalone]

I agree. I think Marlon is the number 1 contender. However its not one that makes me angry. Dom is an all time great and the history between the two, and the champ trying to avenge a loss.

What makes me angry is the UFC playing blatantly favorites and setting wrong examples, like this guy eloquently put:

Lost your last fight? Here's a title shot!
Missed weight your last fight? Here's a title shot!
Got finished in your first title defense? Here's another title shot!
Been inactive for a year? Here's a title shot!

What a fucking shit show the UFC has become.

 

[WinZip]

I hope Cruz wins, but if I had to bet money it'd be on TJ Dillasnake. He's looked too good vs Cody.

Hopefully USADA doesn't find anything in TJ's samples and we get to see this fight

 

[ChangeIsComing]

As much as I like Dom and feel he beats TJ again....he should be fighting Assuncao or Riviera...Moraes deserves the shot.

 

[Threetrees]

The crappy thing about this fight for TJ is that he literally doesn't matter in the outcome. Prime Cruz >> Prime TJ any day.

The big question is: can Cruz regain his form? He's only 33, so a return to his championship form is absolutely a possibility. A lot of people speculated that injuries really hampered him in the Cody Garbrandt fight. Cruz has had a while to heal up various injuries after such a long layoff.

Basically, if Cruz rediscovers his championship form, then TJ is going to lose. Otherwise, I think TJ beats Cruz.

All of this is wrong except the last three words

 

[chinarice]

This post is a perfect example of why I hate TJ and his fans. Not only is TJ down 0-1, but if he goes down 0-2...he’ll still be better in your mongo minds and we will continue to have threads about how TJ is REALLY up 2-0.

Dom won’t ever make an excuse, but be real. While Dom is only a year older than Tyler Jeffery, he has way more fight miles on him than Silly Dilly. He is a fighter who relies on speed and footwork and he is fighting on two reconstructed knees and a questionable foot/ankle. You TJ doofs will put Dom and his accomplishments down, unless TJ wins. Day after that Dom will be one of the greatest all time MMA fighters.

Part of the game. The EXACT same thing is happening with GSP/Woodley right now.

 

[chinarice]

I hope Cruz wins, but if I had to bet money it'd be on TJ Dillasnake. He's looked too good vs Cody.

Hopefully USADA doesn't find anything in TJ's samples and we get to see this fight

TJ has popped as many times as Cruz has.

 

[mirellale]

Cant wait for Dom to beat Silly Dilly again .

#AndNEW

Up for a full kit bet?

 

[MadHouse]

what the fuck? hopefully it ain't true because the guy has been sittin out doin nothing all this time at least have him fight either Moraes or Assuncao

 

[Alpha_T83]

All of this is wrong except the last three words

LOL OK. You're an absolutely idiot if you don't think prime Cruz is the best 135er ever.

 

[hot carl]

Cant wait for Dom to beat Silly Dilly again .

#AndNEW

And then Cody beats dom and round round we go.

 

[hot carl]

LOL OK. You're an absolutely idiot if you don't think prime Cruz is the best 135er ever.

You might be right, for now, but there is a good chance that tj overtakes him at some point.

 

[Jorge Luis Borges]

Dom successfully ducking all the top5 fighters calling him out. TJ had to fight two top5 guys to get the shot again, Cruz deserves the same treatment

In principle I agree, but Cruz
a) can't stay healthy enough to win two top five fights and make it to the title bout, and
b) may not have a lot of time left in his career

The biggest question I think needs to be answered is whether he is better than TJ. I know he won the first fight, but I think most fans see it as a razor thin and less than convincing victory.

I hate the UFC's fetish with immediate rematches, but they allowed this rematch to ripen perfectly, imo.

 

[SHAOLINMONK420]

I have TJ this time. Dom has aged and slowed down just a bit since their last fight and he got brutalized by Cody.

He's injured asf, he's still early 30s

 

[bigconan]

Moraes and Assuncao stuck doing nothing.

does anyone really want to see Assuncao fight? he's right up there with the most boring fighter alive...his fights are take a bathroom break.

 

[fractal]

So TJ is the only one who had to earn his way back to a title shot after losing it? At least give Cruz a gimme fight or something. He got embarrassed in his last loss.

 

[GueseGuy]

Lost your last fight? Here's a title shot!
Missed weight your last fight? Here's a title shot!
Got finished in your first title defense? Here's another title shot!
Been inactive for a year? Here's a title shot!

What a fucking shit show the UFC has become.

UFC is a joke. Who would’ve thought Bellator could actually gain ground on them. WME is just begging Bellator to take over at this point.

 

[Dankoz]

Cruz has his number. Going to place big money on him if odds are same than results in poll.

 

[Alpha_T83]

You seem to completely discount the fact that Cruz has been inactive for nearly two years, and has not beaten any of the current top BW contenders (for comparison, TJ went through Assuncao and Lineker before challenging for the title again).

Why does Cruz deserve the TS? Because he was the most dominant 135er ever, and only has 1 loss in 10 years. The default assumption should be that he will defeat the current top 5. There's nothing to indicate that he would lose to Moraes, Assuncao, or even Garbrandt again.

Not sure why you think he should be ranked #1 when Cody beat him decidedly.

Again, Cody beat him once. Matt Serra beat GSP even more convincingly. Was Serra better than GSP overall? Nope. An N=1 means literally nothing. It means on that night, Cody Garbrandt was better. We have no idea what factors played into that. You've got a guy in Dominic Cruz that's only 33 years old, and was at one point the most dominant 135er ever. The default assumption must be that he had a bad night. To conclude "he's done" after he lost 1 fight is absurd.

I think Cruz needs a top 5 win before challenging again for the title. Imho he should fight Rivera as originally planned, you can't just go from pulling out of a fight to a TS, especially when Assuncao and Moraes are active and beating top BWs out left and right.

In a perfect world, every single fighter should need to win a clear #1 contender fight before challenging for the title. However, that's not always possible. Sometimes you end up without a clear #1 contender and a champion that's ready to fight. If Moraes or Assuncao wanted the title shot, they should have fought each other a 2nd time. That would put one of them in a dominant position to claim the title shot. However, they haven't done that yet. Darren Till got his title shot because he fought Wonderboy -- had he sat out, he wouldn't have gotten it.

The reality is all 3 guys have a claim to the title shot:

Assuncao: 1-1 against Dillashaw and 4 fight win streak, and holds a recent win over Moraes
Moraes: Impressive 3 fight win streak since losing his first UFC fight. But he's only 3-1 in the UFC.
Cruz: 1-0 against Dillashaw, best 135 champion ever, and only lost once in 10 years.

And in this situation, Assuncao holds the win over Moraes, so he should get it... but Moraes has a better recent win against Jimmie Rivera. With no UNDENIABLE #1 contender, it goes to Cruz by default.

 

[Threetrees]

LOL OK. You're an absolutely idiot if you don't think prime Cruz is the best 135er ever.

Second best

No shame in that