You can call him the "Decisionator," but damn Dominick Cruz is entertaining. Cruz won his eighth straight fight last night, with a unanimous decision blowout over Scott Jorgensen. He became the first UFC bantamweight champ by putting on a clinic in every area of the game.
Cruz (17-1) was impossible to hit. His counterstriking game was brilliant. The 5-foot-8, 135 pounder was tough to take down. When he did hit the floor, he popped up quickly. His combinations are some of the best we've ever seen in MMA. Jorgensen is a good fighter but he was made to look silly.
His style is completely unique. There are some good counterstrikers in MMA, and many more who are good defensive fighters, but Cruz's combination of the two is baffling opponents right now.
That's not a bad comparison to Lyoto Machida, but Cruz is a much better grappler than the former light heavyweight champ. Last night, when he wanted to take it to the ground, Cruz executed perfectly. Jorgensen is a former Div. 1 wrestler at Boise State and got dominated in clinch situations.
There's also a mental hurdle to overcome when you face Cruz. It's got to feel like he's clowning you in the cage. The opponent has to refrain from losing his cool.
The comparison to boxer Prince Naseem Hamed is interesting. He mocked opponents for years before getting torn apart by the very composed Marco Antonio Barrera. The Prince's success was part talent and part creative matchmaking.
Let's face it, Cruz has faced some pretty good opponents. Joe Benavidez is no slouch and Brian Bowles is an above average MMA striker.
Who has "real technique?" Does that even matter. Until you're in there and Cruz is bouncing all over the place and landing strikes from crazy angles, do you really know if a disciplined striking game will chop him down? Urijah Faber's striking has gotten better, can he do it? Miguel Torres is a good boxer, but he can get a little out of control too.
Joe Rogan once made the mistake of overreacting to Machida's win over Rashad Evans, saying we were on the verge of the "Machida Era." Are we making the same mistake here if we say this could be the "Cruz Era?" He's only 25 and seems to have it all.
Listen here to hear Cofield and Adam Hill from the Las Vegas Review-Journal on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas as they talk about the victories by Cruz and Anthony Pettis.
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