“Everyone’s got a plan, until they get hit.”
UFC 204 had a lot to talk about. Jimi Manuwa beat Ovince St. Preux in a second round K.O., Gegard Mousasi claimed he would ”jab” Michael Bisping “to death”, and Bisping almost suffered the same fate as the first fight. But something no one saw coming was the fan question for bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz during the post fight show.
During the fan Q&A portion of the show a fan asked if Conor McGregor would be his first fight if the UFC on Fox commentator decided to move up in weight. Cruz quickly responded as if he was giving one of his play by play breakdowns.
“Look, everybody’s calling out McGregor, so I don’t want to be another guy because everybody wants that fight,” said Cruz. “But the thing is, McGregor is picking his own fights. So that’s not up to me [and] that’s not up to the UFC, that’s up to McGregor.”
“Now, I know as much as McGregor, and more about this sport than anybody, and it seems the only way to beat McGregor is with your mind. I know I can do that. I know I also can technically beat him.”
Mentally I think Cruz is ready, but McGregor brings a new type of pressure, so it’s hard to know for sure. There will be interview on top of interview and McGreogor will do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get under Cruz’s skin. Unlike Dillashaw or Faber, he’s not a nice guy. He’s coming for blood. Cruz reminds me of Aldo in that he’s a serious guy who demands respect so I can see Conor riling him up by doing something unexpected. Cruz is in the beginning of his shit talking phase while Conor embodies it. It will be an interesting war of the minds to say the least but I’ve got to give the nod to Conor on this one.
While I’m a big fan of Cruz, and his reasoning is sound, “everybody’s got a plan until they get hit”. Don’t get me wrong, he can do all that he says he can, but Conor is big at even 155 as you can tell by his staredown with Eddie Alvarez. Not only that but Conor is rangey at 5’9 and many of those shots Cruz barely slips will land, and land hard. at 5’8 in a 135lb weight class Cruz is used to fighting shorter, stockier fighters in which he has the reach advantage.
What people also tend to underestimate is conor’s movement and ability to set traps. If you think that Jose Aldo’s first round K.O. was a fluke then you’re dreaming more than Aldo was 15 seconds into the first round. This coming from a guy who doesn’t particularly like McGregor. Cruz is good at making counter punchers miss with his head movement, but again I think Conor’s movement will cut Cruz off making him pay in body shots to his small frame.
“I know at 145 pounds I’m extremely fast and hard to deal with,” said Cruz. “I can beat McGregor, absolutely, and I would love to fight him at 145 pounds or 155 pounds if he wins the title. I don’t care, I’m the champion and my style is built for moving up in weight, because I don’t take damage.
Could Cruz prove all of us wrong by taking down the most popular champ in UFC history? I sure hope so, but right now it’s a pipe dream as Mcgregor has a lot on his plate as well as taking a break after UFC 205. Who knows, maybe he’ll be holding two belts hostage.
Let us know what you think about Dominick’s Cruz comments as well as his chances in winning the fight.
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