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Dominick Cruz Return: What the Ex-Champ Must Do to Return to Glory

Dominick Cruz was once considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the face of the planet. Victories over former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and flyweight contender Joseph Benavi…

Dominick Cruz was once considered one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the face of the planet. Victories over former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber, current UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez cemented Cruz as the best bantamweight fighter in the world. 

His two knee surgeries effectively removed him from the “pound-for-pound best” conversation. A groin injury suffered before a title unification bout with former UFC bantamweight champion Renan Barao would remove the belt from his waist. 

But after almost three years outside of competition, Cruz is set to make his return at UFC 178 against No. 5-ranked Takeya Mizugaki. 

“I’m excited to finally be back,” Cruz told ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto. “It’s been a long time coming, but I feel great and I’m already training hard. Mizugaki is tough and he’s been on a roll, but I’m ready to get back in there and prove that I’m the best bantamweight in the world.”

Think about it, the last time Bruce Buffer announced Cruz’s name Frankie Edgar had yet to rid himself of Gray Maynard, Cain Velasquez was still enjoying his first run as the heavyweight king, Jon Jones was merely one title defense into his now-historic run, Georges St-Pierre was still dominating, Anderson Silva was still making dudes pay and only diehards knew anything about Ronda Rousey. 

It’s been a long road back to the Octagon, but that doesn’t mean it should be a long road back to the title. 

Here’s what the former champ needs to do in order to regain his status as the best fighter at 135 pounds:

 

Listen to His Mind

“Dominick Cruz: The Fighter” showed us that he had a future in fighting; “Dominick Cruz: The Analyst” showed us that he had a future after fighting. 

He hasn’t necessarily had the charismatic success that Chael Sonnen or Kenny Florian have had on Fox Sports 1’s UFC Tonight, but he’s certainly made a name for himself as one of the best on-screen analysts out there.

Whether it’s explaining how Chris Weidman was able to dethrone the middleweight king on two separate occasions, why Alexander Gustafsson gave Jones so much trouble in their first bout or why nobody in the bantamweight division—including Barao, Faber or TJ Dillashaw—can keep Cruz from regaining the title, the Dominator simply needs to continue watching the tape as he prepares for his comeback.

 

Trust in His Knee

After two knee surgeries to repair a torn ACL, everybody on the outside looking in almost expects Cruz to be a little hesitant in his first appearance back inside the cage. 

It isn’t a completely uncommon injury in sports. NFL athletes suffer this injury about as often as fighters are left counting sheep. But for every spectacular Adrian Peterson-like recovery you see, you’re bound to get dozens of dispiriting recoveries akin to the one Robert Griffin III had. 

Unlike Peterson or Griffin, Cruz didn’t rush his recovery to meet any sort of season-opening deadline—he spent three years out of the cage to ensure he would be healthy enough by his own decree. 

Three years out of the Octagon should rarely ever be celebrated for any fighter. At its worst, it could bring the most potent ring rust any marquee fighter has ever seen. At its best, though, it should give Cruz all of the certainty that his knee will hold up just fine as he faces Mizugaki. 

 

Remember His Feet

Take a second to consider this: Even Johnson, the flyweight champion, couldn’t keep up with Cruz’s footwork in their matchup at UFC on Versus 6. 

Take a second second to consider this: Dillashaw—the man who successfully denied Barao from taking his 32-fight winning streak any further—credited Cruz’s footwork as part of the reason Dillashaw stands atop the bantamweight division.

“I knew that Dominick [Cruz] had the footwork to beat [Barao],” Dillashaw told Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter after UFC 173. “So, having that in my mind, I knew I had to step up my footwork, use good angles and keep him confused.” 

It was the way Cruz danced around his opponents, peppering jabs and confusing them with faints that kept his opponents guessing and the belt around his waist. He never got caught up in a brawl or his head in position for his opponent to make contact. He was quick to come in, and quicker to get out—he was about as untouchable as a fighter could be in MMA. 

 

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Keeping It Real With Ratner

UFC.com: “We saw you were front and center on the sideline tables at the NBA Summer League games on Saturday. What were you up to there?” Ratner: “I wasn’t on press row. I was running the clock. I did four games on Saturday – Atlanta and the Wizards was one of them. I love it.” UFC.com: “So you like to keep your hand in officiating sports other than UFC?” Ratner: “I’ve been very blessed in my background as an official in many sports. I was Mountain West, WAC – I go all the way back – so I did about 20 years of Division I football, refereeing. And I’m the commissioner o … Read the Full Article Here

UFC.com: “We saw you were front and center on the sideline tables at the NBA Summer League games on Saturday. What were you up to there?” Ratner: “I wasn’t on press row. I was running the clock. I did four games on Saturday – Atlanta and the Wizards was one of them. I love it.” UFC.com: “So you like to keep your hand in officiating sports other than UFC?” Ratner: “I’ve been very blessed in my background as an official in many sports. I was Mountain West, WAC – I go all the way back – so I did about 20 years of Division I football, refereeing. And I’m the commissioner o … Read the Full Article Here

Michael Johnson Out, Bobby Green in Against Josh Thomson at UFC on Fox 12

UFC lightweight Michael Johnson (15-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has pulled out of his fight with Josh Thomson (20-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC on Fox 12 with an injury. MMAJunkie.com reported the news on Friday.  

Update: UFC.com has reported that B…

UFC lightweight Michael Johnson (15-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has pulled out of his fight with Josh Thomson (20-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC on Fox 12 with an injury. MMAJunkie.com reported the news on Friday.  

Update: UFC.com has reported that Bobby Green will be stepping up on short notice to face Thomson. Green was originally slated to face Abel Trujillo, in a fight that was moved from UFC 176 to UFC Fight Night 47 in Bangor, Maine.

The card, which is headlined by a welterweight showdown between top contenders Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown, is set for July 26 in San Jose, California. The scrap between the two Top 10 lightweights was set as the opening bout of the main card.

The 35-year-old Thomson is coming off a narrow split-decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 10 back in January, and he has gone 4-3 in his last seven fights dating back to 2010. Despite the mixed results, the always-competitive Thomson is ranked No. 3 on the UFC.com rankings.

Johnson is riding an impressive three-fight winning streak, which includes wins over Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau and Melvin Guillard. A win over a veteran like Thomson would have propelled him that much closer to title contention.

Taking a fight on two weeks’ notice is a lot to ask in the UFC’s lightweight division, especially against a crafty veteran like Thomson, who has had a full training camp for this fight. It’s a big step up in competition for the No. 12-ranked Green, who will be looking to make it 4-0 inside the Octagon after wins over Jacob Volkmann, James Krause and Pat Healy.  

The details of Johnson’s injury aren’t known at this point, and there is no time frame on when he’ll be able to return to action.  

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The 10 Best UFC Post-Fight Press Conference Sadfaces


(“I am not impress wit my performance” – Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)

By Ryan Harkness

Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.

Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.

While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”

The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…


(“I am not impress wit my performance” – Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting)

By Ryan Harkness

Schadenfreude is the German word for taking pleasure from the misfortune of others, and aside from scheisseporn it’s pretty much the best word to come out of Germany untranslated. The German fußball team gave us some textbook definition schadenfreude action when they crushed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup earlier this week, and everyone on the internet delighted in watching the host nation weep like little bitches during the meltdown.

Evil pleasure aside, there’s something fascinating about seeing another human wallowing in sadness. And outside of a choking team’s arena or third world country, I’d argue there’s no better place to stare sadness in the face than at a UFC post-fight press conference.

While most of the defeated fighters on a card get to skip the conference and ruminate on their losses in private, the loser of the main event is expected to show up and answer sharp questions from our crack MMA media like “How do you feel right now?” and “What is next now that you’ve failed?”

The look on their faces as they struggle to answer will hit you right in the feels. Or trigger dat schadenfreude if you’re a dick. Since I am definitely a dick, allow me to be your sadness sommelier on this tour through the saddest sadfaces at UFC post-fight press conferences…

Kenny Florian

After three failed runs at the lightweight title, Kenny dropped down to 145 for one last attempt at a UFC belt. Unfortunately he ran into the buzzsaw that was prime Jose Aldo and lost the fight 49-46 on all three judges’ scorecards. I’m pretty sure he would have shed a few tears if his body had the moisture to spare after cutting down to featherweight.

BJ Penn

It seemed pretty damn obvious to everyone except BJ Penn that he was gonna get tool time’d by Frankie Edgar in their third fight. It wasn’t until the post-fight conference that the reality of his situation hit BJ in the face harder than anything Frankie threw in the cage. “I shouldn’t have come back.” Welcome to everyone’s conclusion from nine months ago, BJ.

Georges St. Pierre

Georges is the only winner to make it onto this list for the epic sadface he pulled after his ‘victory’ over Johny Hendricks. First off, you know a guy as OCD as GSP was aware he didn’t exactly perform to his typical flawless standard. Secondly, he not only had those ‘personal problems’ to deal with, his awkward out of the blue retirement in the cage went over about as well as a fart in church. That all led to St Pierre giving us a little glimpse of what things are like in his dark place.

Lyoto Machida

(Photo via Dave Mandel/Sherdog)

For all the hype and accolades Lyoto got out of this fight, he knows the score: he’s 36 years old, and only managed to secure this title shot by default because the rest of the middleweight division turned out to be on steroids. Unless he’s willing to push his career into Randy Couture territory, we probably just witnessed his last kick at the title shot can.

Chael Sonnen

Here’s a twofer that proves the only thing worse than choking and losing a title fight with two minutes remaining is choking and losing a title fight in the second round. Not pictured: the sad face Chael has now as he sits on his couch with his withered testicles in one hand and a lifetime prescription for TRT in the other.

Top 3 Opponents for Holly Holm’s UFC Debut

It only took 16 seconds for Dana White and the UFC brass to realize they were in trouble—UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was much, much better than anybody they could match her up with. 
Months prior to Rousey’s UFC 175 matchup with A…

It only took 16 seconds for Dana White and the UFC brass to realize they were in trouble—UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey was much, much better than anybody they could match her up with. 

Months prior to Rousey’s UFC 175 matchup with Alexis Davis, White and company were looking to sign some much-needed talent to their shallow women’s roster to challenge their trailblazing superstar.

They attempted to lure former Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion and now silver-screen action hero Gina Carano back inside the cage, but they failed.

Meanwhile, fans urged the promotion to find a way to sign another big name to the team, like Invicta FC featherweight champion Cris “Cyborg” Justino. They failed again. 

Instead, in comes former professional boxing champion and now undefeated women’s mixed martial artist Holly Holm to serve as one of the few quality challengers Rousey has left.

It’s unlikely Holm gets an immediate title shot, regardless of her boxing and MMA accolades. She’ll likely have to step inside the Octagon against an established opponent and prove she won’t just be another body for Rousey to toss or another arm for her to bar break.

Keep reading to see the top three opponents for Holm’s UFC debut. 

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UFC 176: The Negative and Positive Effects of Cancelling the PPV

UFC 176 is the second event in the “modern” era of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to suffer the fate of being cancelled. The news of Jose Aldo’s injury threw the mixed martial arts world into immediate speculation as to what the p…

UFC 176 is the second event in the “modern” era of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to suffer the fate of being cancelled. The news of Jose Aldo’s injury threw the mixed martial arts world into immediate speculation as to what the promotion would do to recover.

The announcement that this event would be scrapped didn’t come as a great surprise to anyone who follows the industry. However, the situation is cause for some concern and negativity, but the benefits of cancelling UFC 176 will be felt at the same time. 

 

The Negative Effects of Cancelling UFC 176

Having to cancel the event due to an injury is a glaring example of how the combination of the current schedule and lack of star power is an issue that needs to be addressed.

With Aldo going down to injury, the UFC scrambled to try to find a replacement main event. Joe Rogan was thrown under the bus when he asked Ronda Rousey if she would be able to compete, even though she had just fought moments earlier at UFC 175. Chris Weidman is also on the shelf. Johny Hendricks is injured. Demetrious Johnson just fought and isn’t the draw the UFC wants him to be. Jon Jones, T.J. Dillashaw, Anthony Pettis and Cain Velasquez are all tied up in other commitments to the UFC.

So who does that leave? No one, and that is the issue.

The UFC doesn’t have the luxury of company men such as Rich Franklin or Chael Sonnen to step up to compete last minute. Plus, there aren’t many other fighters who don’t carry titles who fans would be willing to spend money on a PPV to see. Had the promotion decided to move forward with the card, the show was widely expected to have abysmal numbers. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer (via BJPenn.com) reported that UFC 174 had buy rates lower than Bellator’s premiere on PPV, and the UFC does not want to go through that situation again.

Ten UFC events were planned to be held between July and August, which ties up a large number of fighters that could have been inserted into this slot. The UFC is pushing very hard to interject as much content into the sports world as possible, and that has created a schedule that has stretched their star power and viewer interest very thin.

Unable to find any names that would garner attention in three weeks forced the company to pull the plug.

 

The Positive Effects of Cancelling UFC 176

The event’s card featured a number of bouts that were highly anticipated. Now that the show is not being held, though, the UFC is forced to move the fights to other events, and the additions will strengthen those cards substantially.

The majority of the fights have been moved to either the UFC Fight Night event on August 23 or UFC 177. The Ronald Souza vs. Gegard Mousassi fight is expected to become the main event of said UFC Fight Night, which improves that card drastically.

One of the main complaints about the UFC planning so many cards at once is that the quality of fights was being diminished. The cancellation of UFC 176 is a short term solution to that problem. The remaining cards are immediately improved, and the potential presents itself that they will now get more viewership than they would have if UFC 176 had not been cancelled.

Chad Mendes versus Jose Aldo II is an important fight in the UFC, but unfortunately, fight fans will have to wait to see what happens the next time these competitors step in the cage.

While the initial response was negative, there are benefits to the cancellation of UFC 176 that should be celebrated, including the immediate improvement of other UFC events in August.

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