Why didn't Faber attack Cruz's legs?

[NaraKimura]

Dillashaw had good success with leg kicks against Cruz who has had multiple surgeries on them in the past. I was surprised he didn't attempt them knowing Cruz's history.

You could say he was never in range but the chances of landing a kick over a punch I'd say were far higher in the fight.

 

[MrMightyMouse]

As much as I love faber and what he has done, it is time to retire and just go back to his alpha male gym and bring up the new breed of champs...

 

[Arm Barbarian]

Agreed.

Poor fight IQ by Faber.


Dillashaw had his best success attacking Cruz' legs. Urijah should have watched that closely and implemented it into his gameplan imo.

 

[kuromusha]

Probably fear of counter.

 

[Pure Dust]

Dillashaw had good success with leg kicks against Cruz who has had multiple surgeries on them in the past. I was surprised he didn't attempt them knowing Cruz's history.

You could say he was never in range but the chances of landing a kick over a punch I'd say were far higher in the fight.

I dont think Faber is good enough to implement that game plan.

 

[Fahcough]

Because they were hollering his butt was showing and he kept wiping his chin.

 

[Which Doctor]

For sure. My buddy and I watching were actually timing when Cruz was gonna plant his leg, and it got into a nicely repetitive pattern where Uriah could have easily tapped into his inner Huas.

 

[egk]

Obvious answer is Faber is much shorter with less reach both arms and legs. He wasn't getting close to Cruz with anything.

 

[billharford]

Faber looked hypnotized by Cruz. Who knows what his game plan really was

 

[chiefwiggum]

Hea too short to throw them. It's like throwing a lead hook to him.

 

[Drake]

Why doesn't anyone attacks his legs? Because that's what he wants...timing & takedowns, children.

Cruz bless

 

[KeepItRealist]

I had the same question about Nick Diaz when he fought Silva.

 

[AJ Garcia]

Faber doesn't have the offensive skills that Dilly has. Once he got dropped he completely quit running in with his overhand right. Cruz kept touching him with teh jab, and mixed up his kicks really well. Faber is great, he just isn't on the level of guys like Cruz, TJ, and Barao.

 

[senri]

Everyone says this, but TJ got the kicks in when Cruz's foot started to bother him, affecting his footwork. Also Cruz has the highest fight IQ besides Mighty Mouse, he can adjust when needed.

What makes it hard when attacking him is the fact he fights off rhythm all the time, so you cannot effectively time him, he forces you to reset almost every single time you mount an offense. He is also decent at countering his opponents, not to mention him timing his enemies is easier as they all fight similar styles.

To beat him, you need good footwork, and you need to know how to CUT OFF THE RING, a lot of mma fighters are actually not good at doing this. Once you can pull that off, you need enough stamina to put on pressure only attacking him when he is on the cage. As soon as he takes the center of the ring he is at his strongest.

 

[shortlefthook]

Hea too short to throw them. It's like throwing a lead hook to him.

Thats not true leg kicks are all about timing regardless of your height, Faber has never had good leg kicks, it boils down to that.

 

[Haj01]

Because he is not a snake in the grass

 

[Tormund]

Cruz will catch the kick and take him down.

 

[Judge Lance Ito]

Faber is a bottler/has terrible fight IQ in the big fights.

 

[Deleted member 498977]

For sure. My buddy and I watching were actually timing when Cruz was gonna plant his leg, and it got into a nicely repetitive pattern where Uriah could have easily tapped into his inner Huas.

Yeah, it's easy to strategize from the side, not having to eat Cruz's shots, takedowns and not being mislead by his faints and footwork.

Plus Faber was never good at leg kicks.

 

[kingskot]

Faber has less functional range, even with kicks, he's not an especially strong kicker, and it would open him up for punching and takedown counters, both of which Cruz is very good at.

That being said, he may as well of tried it a bit in the fourth, it seemed clear by then that he had to try something different if he wanted to win. At that point he seemed to be fighting mostly to not get finished.