After four years, Dominick Cruz is set to fight once again for a title he never lost. The UFC has booked Cruz to fight T.J. Dillashaw for its bantamweight title on January 17, 2016.
Cruz won the title, which was the WEC bantamweight title at that point, in 2010 after defeating Brian Bowles. He defended his belt four times, twice in the UFC, notching notable victories over rival Urijah Faber and current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in 2012 and has dealt with several injuries since then, leading the UFC to strip him of his title in January of 2014. He made his triumphant return to the Octagon with a first-round knockout of Takeya Mizugaki in September of 2014, before tearing the ACL in his other knee. He vowed to return, and now he’s doing just that against the current champion.
T.J. Dillashaw won the title in May of 2014 against Renan Barão in what’s considered one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history. Since then, he took out Joe Soto and beat Barão even more decisively in a rematch. Dillashaw and Cruz have exchanged insults multiple times since Dillashaw became champion.
This should be an interesting chess match of a title fight, as both Dillashaw and Cruz use footwork and stance switches to create unorthodox angles of attack. Dillashaw tends to stay more balanced within his stances, allowing himself to throw more powerful punches. Cruz has even more unorthodox movements, but sometimes ends up in awkward positions where he’s susceptible to knock downs. Both fighters feel they’re the true champion, and after January 17 there won’t be anymore doubt who’s the best bantamweight in the world.
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