And New! Dominick Cruz returned to the Octagon last night (Sun., Jan. 17, 2016) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, narrowly eking out a split decision victory to regain his stripped UFC Bantamweight Championship against TJ Dillashaw in the phenomenal “Fight of The Night” at UFC Fight Night 81. With plenty of options available, MMAmania.com ponders what could be next for “The Dominator.”
What’s next for Dominick Cruz?
Is that really the first question that needs to be answered?
Before looking into the future, let’s just take a moment to take in the absolutely massive accomplishment Cruz achieved by simply stepping into the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 81 last night (Sun., Jan. 17, 2016) in Boston, Massachusetts.
After fighting a total of 61 seconds in a span of four years due to three ACL surgeries and a torn groin, “The Dominator” had his Bantamweight title stripped from him by UFC brass, and all of his achievements thrown aside because his body betrayed him.
Lesser fighters would have retired long before Cruz ever considered going through rehab for a third time, and especially so after returning his three-year layoff by absolutely massacring a tough Takeya Mizugaki in September, 2014.
Had “The Dominator” chose to hang up his gloves then, his decision would have been warranted.
But Cruz wanted to prove he was still a Champion.
Of course, a torn groin forced him to pull out of yet another UFC title fight, and once again his career prospects came into question.
During Cruz’s injury layoff, TJ Dillashaw supplanted the former Bantamweight kingpin by savagely beating Renan Barao twice, and impressively taking out Joe Soto on a day’s notice.
The new Champion’s footwork and strikes were lauded and appreciated by the MMA masses, and there was clear comparisons to be made between Dillashaw and Cruz.
Fight fans began dreaming of a fight between the two champs, but many questioned whether or not Cruz would return as an elite 135-pound mixed martial artist.
Personally, I can not even fathom having to go through rehab once, let alone four separate times, but Cruz was not to be denied in his journey to reclaim UFC gold.
During his extended layoff, Cruz was adamant ring rust was something of fiction, and he was training hard enough to compete at the highest level.
While no one could question Cruz’s perseverance, drive, or mental fortitude, questions still remained whether or not “The Dominator” could still hang with the elite of the elite after so much time off.
On Sunday night, Cruz answered those questions emphatically, putting together a career-best performance against an incredibly dangerous opponent in Dillashaw.
The fight was simply outstanding, as Cruz’s footwork and elusiveness seemed to be at a whole different level from the get-go. Just as Cruz had promised, he displayed no signs of ring rust whatsoever en route to his split decision victory.
It took Dillashaw quite some time to figure out Cruz’s rhythm before actually landing anything of significance.
In fact, it was almost stunning to see Cruz evade so many of the former champ’s strikes early on. To his credit, Dillashaw remained poised, and stormed back in the latter rounds with a kick-heavy game that significantly slowed Cruz down.
Alas, Cruz simply proved to be too much, and he was crowned as the Undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion once again.
Cruz himself was not all that interested in discussing his first title defense following the war with Dillashaw at the post-fight press conference (replay here), but I am inclined to do just that.
In a time where immediate rematches seem almost necessary, I hope that UFC brass steers in a different direction.
The Bantamweight division is stacked with up and coming prospects like Aljamain Sterling and Thomas Almeida, but neither have a big enough name to be thrust into a title fight at this point.
Raphael Assuncao was once the No. 1 contender — being the last man to defeat Dillashaw prior to Cruz — but the Brazilian has been fighting a myriad of injuries himself, having not fought since October 2014.
I suspect Assuncao will have to fight in a No. 1 contender fight before getting a shot at Cruz, and that could very well be a rematch against Dillashaw or potentially a fight against Sterling.
So where does that leave Cruz?
If you guessed Urijah Faber, you would be correct.
Does Faber technically deserve a title shot? Nope, but it will likely happen anyway.
UFC is a business first and foremost, and Dana White simply won’t pass up on the trilogy fight between two of the biggest names and rivals under 155 pounds.
Both men hold a victory over each other, and a rubber match could main event a PPV, or find its way as a headliner on a major FOX show.
Expect “The Dominator” and “The California Kid” to go head to head one more time for Bantamweight supremacy.
For complete results from UFC Fight Night 81: “Dillashaw vs. Cruz,” including play-by-play updates click here.