Before the UFC crowns its inaugural women’s strawweight champion on Friday night, two exciting lightweights will square off on the main card of The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale. Season 15 veteran Daron Cruickshank takes on Strikeforce and DREAM veteran K.J. Noons. The two are both known for their knockout power, and this fight should bring the violence.
Cruickshank is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo and is comfortable rushing forward with barrages of punches and kicks. He started off his professional mixed martial career in 2009 with a bang, winning by KO with a first-round spinning back fist, and hasn’t let off the gas since then. “The Detroit Superstar” has gone 3-1 inside the Octagon in 2014 and will undoubtedly be looking to close out the year with another highlight-reel performance.
Karl James Noons has been competing in martial arts since he was a teenager. He was an amateur Sanshou champion at age 17 and also has a professional boxing record of 11-2. He competed in both MMA and boxing until 2009, when he signed with Strikeforce as an MMA fighter. He went 3-4 in the Strikeforce cage but became a fan favorite for his fighting style and his part in the infamous “Don’t be scared homie” scene with Nick Diaz.
Noons is coming off a thunderous first-round knockout over Sam Stout back in April and will be looking for his third straight UFC win against Cruikshank. Before even making his UFC debut, he’s shared the cage with some very formidable foes in Nick Diaz, Yves Edwards, Jorge Masvidal and Josh Thomson, so he’s no stranger to tough competition.
Noons proved to any remaining skeptics in his UFC debut against Donald Cerrone that he certainly can take punishment. Against Cruikshank, we’re sure to find out just how much. Because if the fight goes all three rounds, he’s sure to eat some of Cruikshank’s best shots.
Nearly every strike Cruikshank throws is meant to finish the fight. He knocked Henry Martinez out with a superbly placed walk-off head kick in his second UFC fight back in 2012. He mauled Erik Koch with ground-and-pound back in May, and prior to that he wheel-kicked Mike Rio right off the UFC’s roster.
Cruikshank’s kicking game is some of the best in the division, and his offense is extremely high-volume. Plainly put: He fires off kicks like it’s going out of style. This is a matchup tailor-made for striking fans. A kickboxer with a black belt in kempo vs. a taekwondo black belt with several highlight-reel knockouts already on his resume. What more could UFC fans ask for?
In a crowded lightweight landscape, which currently houses the largest amount of fighters of any division in the UFC, it’s tough for unranked fighters to gain traction among fans. This fight is sure to provide the requisite amount of fireworks to keep both men in the consciousness of MMA fans and could be a breakout performance for one of them.
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