Dominik Cruz explains his view on Cejudo stoppage

[H41ph_84k3d]

I think Keith Peterson is a very good referee. In fact, this is the only major mistake I can think of.
At the moment he moved in to stop the fight, it looked like Dom could be done. So I get it. It turns out that wasn’t the case. So yes, it was a bit of an early stoppage, but it’s not really Peterson’s fault.

*The NO NONSENSE Keith Peterson.

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

What does the entire course of a fight have to do with whether it was stopped at the appropriate time? The whole idea is that it runs it's course to the appropriate end. Would you have stopped Edgar/Maynard? The rules are clear and not able to intelligently defend yourself is clearly listed. Being able to move away while disoriented from being hit and making it to the fence leaves room for debate. The fact that he had that many clean shots and could not seal the deal is nothing to write home about. Any high end striker would have turned Cruz to mush in that position.

not the same scenario. frankie was round 1 and fresh. cruz was losing, and then losing worse over the corse of the fight. the only moment he had daylight was a headbutt man. theres nothing to cling to on dom surviving, or even getting a w. it was over

i brought up bj vs frankie 3 as an example because in no way was bj tjko'd or even KOd. more of a mercy stoppage but it was over, there was no come back. cruz was tko'd imo, with a sprinkle of mercy on top

I think Keith Peterson is a very good referee. In fact, this is the only major mistake I can think of.
At the moment he moved in to stop the fight, it looked like Dom could be done. So I get it. It turns out that wasn’t the case. So yes, it was a bit of an early stoppage, but it’s not really Peterson’s fault.

i respect this take. you can tell he made the decision when doms face was on the mat. i just happen to agree with it as a good call. maybe a tad early but certianly not spilled milk

 

[Carrotman23]

I think Keith Peterson is a very good referee. In fact, this is the only major mistake I can think of.
At the moment he moved in to stop the fight, it looked like Dom could be done. So I get it. It turns out that wasn’t the case. So yes, it was a bit of an early stoppage, but it’s not really Peterson’s fault.

i agree funnily enough as someone pointed out if he'd stopped it earlier(before he got to the fence and was getting up) it wouldve looked better . its tough job and i think cruz's post fight comments about him were stupid and in the ariel interview he definitely implies that something was up with kieth when he asked him to let him go till the bitter end before the fight which is probably embellished . I doubt Kieth was actually out of it or anything like cruz said even if he did articulate it well in this interview .

 

[BFoe]

i agree funnily enough as someone pointed out if he'd stopped it earlier(before he got to the fence and was getting up) it wouldve looked better . its tough job and i think cruz's post fight comments about him were stupid and in the ariel interview he definitely implies that something was up with kieth when he asked him to let him go till the bitter end before the fight which is probably embellished . I doubt Kieth was actually out of it or anything like cruz said even if he did articulate it well in this interview .

I agree. And I’m a Cruz fan too—but Don’s comments were out of line. It was an understandable mistake.

 

[TrueFightFan]

getting swatted the whole time. no he wasnt going to get all the way up imo. could he have taken more? i mean i guess yes. But what for the fight was over. he was bested the whole time, and finished. nothing bad about this stoppage to me


exactly i was gonna mention he almost had some daylight after the headbutt but it wasnt meant to be. he got whooped the entire time progressively getting worse. no idea what hope anyone has to cling too in order to tell themselves cruz was gonna improve enough to not get put out clean anyway especially at that point in the fight. its like arguing bj still could have taken more shots against edgar in the 3rd fight. for what

No, I didn't think it was a bad stoppage. Hearing him still complain like he was competitive in that fight is pretty tough. I think he has indifferent feelings because he got a headbutt cut on Cejudo that could of made things difficult. But Cejudo is just on a different level and was picking Dom apart.

Let's leave aside for just a second the question of the stoppage and acknowledge that Cejudo whooped Cruz' ass worse than Garbrandt did, though perhaps less stylishly.

I guess you guys have never watched an Overeem fight, a Lewis fight, Silva vs Chael, Bisping vs GSP or any other fight where a late sub or ko allowed a less skilled fighter to beat a superior fighter? You guys probably scream "GOAT" after every new knockout on fightnight. I bet you guys probably think Lewis or Masvidal are GOATs or wondered how anyone in the world could stop Lesnar. Look, if the refs are going to let a 300 pound bull pound an obviously dead body a few extra times "just to be sure", why in the fuck are they trying to protect chihuahuas from chihuahuas???

 

[MigitAs]

Never liked cruz or his dancing.

That said, i too was pissed when the fight was stopped early.

Cejudo got off easy on Cruz and Dillashaw

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

I guess you guys have never watched an Overeem fight, a Lewis fight, Silva vs Chael, Bisping vs GSP or any other fight where a late sub or ko allowed a less skilled fighter to beat a superior fighter? You guys probably scream "GOAT" after every new knockout on fightnight. I bet you guys probably think Lewis or Masvidal are GOATs or wondered how anyone in the world could stop Lesnar. Look, if the refs are going to let a 300 pound bull pound an obviously dead body a few extra times "just to be sure", why in the fuck are they trying to protect chihuahuas from chihuahuas???

i dont know what your on about but Dom is the GOAT 135er.

wait bisping more skilled than gsp?

 

[FireKidWS]

He beat a lot of the best guys at bantamweight. It gets a little murky since the division essentially split to form flyweight, but he beat Benavidez, Dodson, Mighty Mouse, McCall, Faber, Bowles. And of course, Dillashaw.

It might be a little stretch but it's not crazy to say he cleared out BW circa 2010 or 2011. He defended that WEC/UFC strap four times.

Most thorough response so far.

 

[heavy_hands]

as a big cruz fan he was done. he only got up because the reff stopped the punching

its not like it came out of no where he was handily losing that fight getting worse and worse. then he got blasted and finished. cant believe anyone would think this stoppage isnt clean

I’m not a big fan of Henry’s but I can watch this over and over.

 

[Th3Sav4ge]

I’m not a big fan of Henry’s but I can watch this over and over.

 

[TrueFightFan]

i dont know what your on about but Dom is the GOAT 135er.

wait bisping more skilled than gsp?

I'm agreeing with Cruz that it was an early stoppage .

As for GSP, Bisping was kicking his ass until the lucky punch.

 

[neandertal]

Hes fighting for his legacy, its understandable. Hes basically done as a fighter.

 

[Mask Of Winters]

What I see is a fighter who's definitely moving, but just as clearly not defending the strikes to his head in the least. And the last time I checked, the inability to defend oneself against taking damage was the main if not sole criteria for stopping a fight.

If Cruz still wants to be salty about it, whatevs. He's the type who's salty about everything. You literally can't even say hi to people like Cruz without them getting offended somehow.

 

[DestinedAussie]

CCC isnt GOAT level at all unless he gets a couple more wins . could've easily gone the other way in the 2nd mighty mouse fight in fact imo he lost that fight(barely though)

I agree a couple more defenses would really help his resume. The multiple weight classes is big too in my mind.

You have to remember he has won as many title fights as Khabib has, although I feel his resume is too thin too. When you look at how many and how long for Jon Jones, neither of them will ever get close to winning that many title fights.

 

[Jarilo]

we watching the same same thing bro ? hes literally getting up against the fence

C mon man, as long as fight lasted, he got nothing, nada. His leg would be done by second round. He was slow and uncordinated while Henry was absolutly on fire.
But its true you could let that fight go on, and i am 100% sure that Dom would take much much more damage and the result would be the same. Sorry mistmatch and i am happy Dom didnt take more damage

 

[TITS]

Title fights should go until the guy is out or completely defenseless and taking indisputable damage.

Both of these were early stoppages:
Cejudo vs Cruz
Cejudo vs TJ

I don’t claim the outcome would have been different but champs and title challengers deserve to have a conclusive ending/outcome.
And fans would also prefer the decisive conclusion.

There was literally 2 seconds left on the clock and Cruz was getting to his feet. Awful premature stoppage. Even worse than Overeem/Rozenstruik.

 

[Brom Bones]

we watching the same same thing bro ? hes literally getting up against the fence

Dude, you realize the drunk, cigarette smoking Keith Peterson was on his way in after Cruz took like 15 unanswered shots, right? What do you expect, him to pull a Herb Dean and go in to stop it, almost make contact with the fighters and then back off at the last moment?

This is an absolutely ridiculous opinion. We can see him starting to get up right as the ref got there, but the ref had already decided to stop it and was going in to do so. Don't like it, don't take 15 unanswered shots.

 

[Vaanderdecken]

Not a fan of either fighter, and I didn't watch the fight. But that stoppage (based on the gif) appears a bit early, sure. Many fighters have come back from much worse. It looks to me like Cruz made it to the fence and was building back up an instant before the ref jumps in.

 

[sapporo ichiban]

not the same scenario. frankie was round 1 and fresh. cruz was losing, and then losing worse over the corse of the fight. the only moment he had daylight was a headbutt man. theres nothing to cling to on dom surviving, or even getting a w. it was over

i brought up bj vs frankie 3 as an example because in no way was bj tjko'd or even KOd. more of a mercy stoppage but it was over, there was no come back. cruz was tko'd imo, with a sprinkle of mercy on top


i respect this take. you can tell he made the decision when doms face was on the mat. i just happen to agree with it as a good call. maybe a tad early but certianly not spilled milk

Out of the entire response, you decide to focus on that example? Ok, how many more would you like? How about Boech

not the same scenario. frankie was round 1 and fresh. cruz was losing, and then losing worse over the corse of the fight. the only moment he had daylight was a headbutt man. theres nothing to cling to on dom surviving, or even getting a w. it was over

i brought up bj vs frankie 3 as an example because in no way was bj tjko'd or even KOd. more of a mercy stoppage but it was over, there was no come back. cruz was tko'd imo, with a sprinkle of mercy on top


i respect this take. you can tell he made the decision when doms face was on the mat. i just happen to agree with it as a good call. maybe a tad early but certianly not spilled milk

Out of all that I said, you choose to focus in on the example? The whole reason for an example is to suggest what need not even be said to any real mma fan. Anything can happen and stoppages are up for debate unless there is no room for it. The dude was not sleeping and he moved to the cage and began to attempt to get up from the perspective of many. What I am arguing is that you say there is no room for debate which is clearly false. The stoppage wasn't horrible but for you to suggest that it was without question, a done deal with zero room for debate, is frankly, blowing it out of proportion. How about Boetsch vs. Okami ? I can give you more examples of crazy turn arounds from guys who were not out. Again, you are entitled to your opinion, even if it is wrong.

 

[Carrotman23]

Out of the entire response, you decide to focus on that example? Ok, how many more would you like? How about Boech


Out of all that I said, you choose to focus in on the example? The whole reason for an example is to suggest what need not even be said to any real mma fan. Anything can happen and stoppages are up for debate unless there is no room for it. The dude was not sleeping and he moved to the cage and began to attempt to get up from the perspective of many. What I am arguing is that you say there is no room for debate which is clearly false. The stoppage wasn't horrible but for you to suggest that it was without question, a done deal with zero room for debate, is frankly, blowing it out of proportion. How about Boetsch vs. Okami ? I can give you more examples of crazy turn arounds from guys who were not out. Again, you are entitled to your opinion, even if it is wrong.

Its like they dont understand the rules of MMA . it dosnt matter at all that Cruz was losing the fight when discussing the stoppage , the point is he wasnt out , not even flash knocked out , it was the first time he was dropped , he was getting up and clearly in control of his body and therefore had the ability to intelligently defend himself . Immediately after the stoppage it was clear he wasnt seriously hurt , it was a bad stoppage plain and simple .