Rewatch Forgotten "Super Fight": Demetrious Johnson vs Dominick Cruz For BW Title (Yes They Fought)

[Black9]

Crazy fight that's usually forgotten about

 

[Leinster Rugby]

good call, that was a great fight.

Was rooting for da mouse but Cruz definitely won the decision.

 

[BabyBlue_Bomber]

Cruz took Johnson to Suplex City…

 

[VinceArch]

Awesome fight and the last defense of Cruz before that injury bug stayed on him for a few years.

 

[Shaolin Alan]

Not a "super fight".
This was a Bantamweight bout, as Demetrius Johnson had yet to win a title (vs men his size) at the later created UFC Flyweight division.

 

[HuskySamoan]

That was only a superfight in retrospect. At the time DJ wasn't seen as a serious contender, got handled by Pickett and won a controversial decision vs Miguel Torres leading up to the Cruz fight. DJ was never a big deal at 135 but yes, anyone who's been watching a while knows this happened.

 

[MigitAs]

DJ got suplexed a bunch if I remember. It was the only fight Cruz looked like a powerhouse; was a good example of prime Cruz too.

 

[MigitAs]

Prime Cruz gets less respect around here than most champions of his era, and he managed to stay undefeated for most of his prime. His losses can be said to be the result of wear and tear/injuries imo, and not so much the game passing him by. His style was always interesting and fun to watch.

 

[EndlessCritic]

At the time it wasn't a superfight, but in retrospect it was a great matchup.

 

[ArtardFiesta]

Prime Cruz gets less respect around here than most champions of his era, and he managed to stay undefeated for most of his prime. His losses can be said to be the result of wear and tear/injuries imo, and not so much the game passing him by. His style was always interesting and fun to watch.

he was too inconsistent with injuries to really build a legacy

 

[RockyLockridge]

Prime Cruz gets less respect around here than most champions of his era, and he managed to stay undefeated for most of his prime. His losses can be said to be the result of wear and tear/injuries imo, and not so much the game passing him by. His style was always interesting and fun to watch.

I have him over khabib.

 

[blaseblase]

Prime Cruz gets less respect around here than most champions of his era, and he managed to stay undefeated for most of his prime. His losses can be said to be the result of wear and tear/injuries imo, and not so much the game passing him by. His style was always interesting and fun to watch.

I don't think most UFC fans were watching the WEC sadly. At the time bantamweight had less respect than flyweight does today.

 

[Shoguns Prodigy**]

Not a super fight. Dj was just a contender back then I don’t think he was even doing mma full time at that point. But I remember dj doing pretty good, he was out striking dom and then dom started utilizing his size and grappling to dominate him.

 

[pankrat]

Another example of why DJ is regarded as the best fighter to ever live by many pundits and fellow fighters.

Massive size/weight dissadvantage for lighter weightclasses in this match up, vs the GOAT at the superior weightclass, and still gave him all he could handle despite not even dedicating to MMA full time by then.

 

[chardog]

Cruz took Johnson to Suplex City…

holy shit moment indeed

 

[jeff7b9]

Reminder to everyone that if I recall correctly DJ still had a full time job at that point in time and was getting paid fucking peanuts to fight part time.

And he made Cruz resort to wrestling which I don't recall any other Cruz opponent ever doing, certainly not a prime Cruz like he was in that era.

Still... props to Cruz. He fucked up DJs face and had his jaw swollen as fuck. Only time I ever remember MM taking/wearing damage.

 

[Neck&Neck]

Super Manlet Fight
2 good kids going toe to toe
You love to see it

 

[TheToneZone]

By definition a fight with Dominic Cruz is not a super fight

 

[Connection Lost]

He would have thrown more knees to counter DJ's takedown attempts but the knees missed high

 

[mkt]

Prime Cruz gets less respect around here than most champions of his era, and he managed to stay undefeated for most of his prime. His losses can be said to be the result of wear and tear/injuries imo, and not so much the game passing him by. His style was always interesting and fun to watch.

Yeah I wanted to see him fight Frankie Edgar when both were in their primes. It wouldn't be a "just bleed" fight as both had crazy footwork and could be elusive. It would've been a good technical fight, though, and probably come down to a close decision.

Seeing how Frankie dropped to BW very late in his career, I'm sure he could've gone there after getting robbed by Bendo in their rematch or maybe after losing to Aldo. I think it would've been the best weight class for him as Aldo was his kyptonite and he was too small for the bigger guys starting to fight at LW.