Team Alpha Male’s head honcho Urijah Faber believes Cody Garbrandt’s loss to T.J. Dillashaw isn’t as bad as a defeat to Dominick Cruz would’ve been. Earlier this month, Garbrandt defended the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)…
Team Alpha Male’s head honcho Urijah Faber believes Cody Garbrandt’s loss to T.J. Dillashaw isn’t as bad as a defeat to Dominick Cruz would’ve been. Earlier this month, Garbrandt defended the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title against Dillashaw. The action took place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. Dillashaw became a two-time […]
Every fighter, no matter how great they may be or have been, has a weakness that served as their Achilles heel. Whether it be a expert striker’s proclivity for takedowns, or a wrestler who can’t seem to escape from triangle chokes, no mixed martial artist is bereft of weakness. Let’s take a look at the […]
Every fighter, no matter how great they may be or have been, has a weakness that served as their Achilles heel. Whether it be a expert striker’s proclivity for takedowns, or a wrestler who can’t seem to escape from triangle chokes, no mixed martial artist is bereft of weakness.
Let’s take a look at the ten greatest weaknesses that have plagued fighters throughout their career.
10. Dominick Cruz – Injuries
Perhaps one of the best and quickest bantamweight fighter, Dominick Cruz has had tremendous success in winning the 135 pound title twice and being the second and last man to beat flyweight kingpin Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
In spite of all his success, Cruz has repeatedly dealt with broken hands, torn ACLs, and the resulting surgeries that follow.
Cruz was stripped of the title after years of inactivity following a torn ACL while training to fight Urijah Faber in 2012, and although he finally returned to run through Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 178, he tore his ACL again and was forced out of action until he triumphantly returned to win the title back from current champ TJ Dillashaw in January 2016.
Cruz defended the title against Faber but lost it to ‘The California Kid’s’ Team Alpha Male protege Cody Garbrandt to end the year. He was set to take on rising contender Jimmie Rivera in a potential title eliminator at December 30’s UFC 219, but a broken arm forced him out of yet another bout due to injury.
If Cruz’s hands were as durable as concrete, his knees more sturdy, and his limbs unbreakable, he’d be the best bantamweight alive right now. But unfortunately, that’s not the case, making this weakness a highly important – and omnipresent – vulnerability.
In the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), the concept of ‘ring rust’ is frequently used, with fighters who have been out of the cage for an extended period of time often seen as being at risk of not performing to the best of their abilities. There have been plenty of examples of this phenomenon, […]
In the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), the concept of ‘ring rust’ is frequently used, with fighters who have been out of the cage for an extended period of time often seen as being at risk of not performing to the best of their abilities.
There have been plenty of examples of this phenomenon, and whether it’s a fighter coming back after a long spell due to injury, suspension, or just an extended hiatus, the belief is that it can lead to sluggish performances in which they are slow to start, struggle to find their range and timing, and generally seem to be missing a step.
However, there is an opposing school of thought among some fighters that ring rust is in fact a myth, and that the real problem lies with either a mental block or a lack of preparation.
In this article, we’ll seek to find evidence to back up that theory by recounting 10 examples of UFC stars who have gone against the grain and shown no sign of ring rust and excelled at the highest level after returning from particularly lengthy layoffs from the sport.
Georges St-Pierre
UFC fans waited four long years for the return of former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre, who vacated his title in late 2013 after citing the need to take time out from the sport.
At one stage it looked like he might be gone for good, but finally, a comeback fight was announced, and rather than just looking to conquer his old weight class, the Canadian superstar opted to move up to challenge Michael Bisping for the middleweight title instead.
Despite having been the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport a few years beforehand, there were concerns as to whether the now 36-year-old had waited too long to return and how he’d cope with stepping up a division and carrying extra muscle and so the odds were very close leading into his fight with Bisping.
St-Pierre seemed confident though, claiming that he was now a better fighter than ever, although he did acknowledge that ‘ring rust’ could be a factor, particularly in the early stages of the fight.
However, there was little sign of that at UFC 217 as he started brightly, showing off a more diverse striking arsenal, increased punching power, and sharpened submission skills.
That would lead to him dropping Bisping with a left hook in the third round and then sending him to sleep with a rear-naked choke to earn his first stoppage victory in over eight years and seize the 185-pound title.
Jimmie Rivera claims that he had worries about Dominick Cruz’s propensity for injury ahead of their scheduled match-up on Dec. 30 Unfortunately for Rivera, Cruz’s broken arm sustained in training justified his concerns. Cruz has had a torrid time…
Jimmie Rivera claims that he had worries about Dominick Cruz’s propensity for injury ahead of their scheduled match-up on Dec. 30 Unfortunately for Rivera, Cruz’s broken arm sustained in training justified his concerns. Cruz has had a torrid time with injury in his professional career which has seen him have more of his fair share […]
For newly re-crowned UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, a fight with flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson is the best fight to make. While “Mighty Mouse” has been less than receptive to it, Dillashaw has ramped up the trash talk after once again becoming a UFC champion by stopping arch rival Cody Garbrandt the November 4’s UFC […]
For newly re-crowned UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, a fight with flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson is the best fight to make.
While “Mighty Mouse” has been less than receptive to it, Dillashaw has ramped up the trash talk after once again becoming a UFC champion by stopping arch rival Cody Garbrandt the November 4’s UFC 217.
“Why not? This fight makes sense. He doesn’t have anybody and this thing should’ve happened in August. He wants a big money fight. He wants to prove that he’s the pound-for-pound king.
“This is the step. I can make the weight. I wanted to stop him from breaking the record and he wanted to break it first, so he got that out of the way, he got to do what he wanted to do and he beat the record books.
“But now it’s time to man up and get this fight going. This is a fight that fans want to see. I keep hearing them say it and everyone’s loving it, so let’s get this done. There’s no reason to be scared now, you got to break the record.”
As for the bantamweight division, Dillashaw doesn’t see a rematch with Garbrandt or Dominick Cruz anytime soon, especially considering the way in which Garbrandt was dispatched by the current champ at UFC 217 and how Cruz refused to grant Dillashaw a rematch after winning the belt in a controversial split decisions UFC Fight Night 81.
Dillashaw has remained adamant before and after winning the bantamweight belt, which has surely given him an advantage in seeking a superfight with the UFC’s most dominant champion:
“He came by when I was taking photos with the belt (at UFC 217) and he said that I did the first step,” Dillashaw said. “So in my mind, that’s him saying, ‘Let’s get this on.’ I did the first step, because he said to the media that I wasn’t worthy of a title shot, that I needed to be a champion, that he wasn’t going to fight me because I wasn’t a champion. And he came by and said that I did the first step, so I think in his mind too, this is the fight that makes sense.”
And as for his old nemesis Cruz, Dillashaw was clear that he wasn’t interested in the match up as Cruz had already denied him a rematch:
“Cruz can suck it, man,” Dillashaw said. “He’s the one who made me wait forever. He knew he should’ve given me that rematch. He was scared. He thought he was cherry-picking by picking Cody. He was trying to hold onto that belt, get as much as he could. So if it’s up to me, he can wait. He can wait as long as I did. I couldn’t care less. I mean, I do want to beat that guy. I do want to smash because I know that I can, but I don’t care what he says. I’m going for the fight that makes the most sense for me right now, and that’s Demetrious Johnson, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get it.”
Do you want to see Dillashaw challenge for the flyweight belt? Or should the new champion focus solely on his own division?
TJ Dillashaw is once again the UFC bantamweight champion of the world and wants things firmly on his terms as long as he holds the strap Dillashaw also has a good memory. Dominick Cruz refused to grant Dillashaw an immediate rematch following their TD …
TJ Dillashaw is once again the UFC bantamweight champion of the world and wants things firmly on his terms as long as he holds the strap Dillashaw also has a good memory. Dominick Cruz refused to grant Dillashaw an immediate rematch following their TD Garden title bout in 2016, following his split-decision victory. Dillashaw had to […]
