Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone, as UFC Fight Night 81 blew the roof off TD Garden Arena last night (Sun., Jan., 17, 2016) in Boston, Massachusetts.
For complete coverage including play-by-play results click here.
Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds, including Matt Mitrione, who was stopped by Travis Browne in the third and final round of their heavyweight collision (recap here). And Anthony Pettis, who lost a close razor-thin split decision to Eddie Alvarez in the co-main event of the night thanks to Eddie’s ever-improving wrestling.
But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now 48 hours removed from the show?
T.J. Dillashaw
After months of back-and-forth verbal warfare, Cruz and Dillashaw finally stepped into the cage to settle their differences and prove once and for all who the best bantamweight fighter in the world really is. And, the debate as to who the owner of the best footwork in MMA is, would also be settled.
From the get-go, both men came out busy, utilizing their respective footwork to move in and out, balancing offense and defense to a “T.” Dillashaw though, proved to be the more aggressive fighter through the first two rounds, pushing the pace, and forcing “The Dominator” to backpedal at times.
Cruz never backed down, earning back-to-back takedowns in round two to steal the frame. In round three, Cruz, yet again, scored another impressive takedown, as T.J. looked to be slowing down just a bit. And soon thereafter, it was apparent that the bout had quickly turned into a vintage “Dominick Cruz fight.”
Then the championship rounds rolled around.
Dillashaw, perhaps sensing he was down in the bout, came out aggressive, landing a hard leg kick that visibly hurt Cruz. Eventually, a busted up T.J. would score a takedown to gain control momentarily.
In the fifth and final round, both men laid it all out in the cage, as they traded shots till the very end in what proved to be a highly-competitive and close five minutes. And as much as Cruz tried to play it off, his left leg was obviously hurt, as evidenced by his visible limp once the fight ended.
In the end, the ringside judges’ awarded Cruz the split-decision victory, giving the belt he never lost right back to him after a three years of turmoil.
So where does T.J. go from here?
Personally, I think a bout against Urijah Faber might as well go down. After all, “The California Kid” is the No. 3 ranked fighter in the division, and the beef the two have currently going after “Viper’s” departure from Team Alpha Male already gives them a jump on the promotional side of things.
Besides, if it doesn’t go down at this point, it likely never will.