TJ Dillashaw or Urijah Faber: Who Should Dominick Cruz Fight Next?

Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw battled for five rounds in a UFC bantamweight classic in January. It marked Cruz’s return after another major knee injury, and he took back his spot on the throne of the 135-pound division.
The natural question foll…

Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw battled for five rounds in a UFC bantamweight classic in January. It marked Cruz’s return after another major knee injury, and he took back his spot on the throne of the 135-pound division.

The natural question following a title fight is who is the next challenger, and at bantamweight, there are only two realistic options: Dillashaw and his former mentor, Urijah Faber.

No. 2-ranked contender Renan Barao is moving up to 145 pounds, and the organization is embroiled in a contract negotiation with No. 5-ranked Aljamain Sterling. And No. 4-ranked Raphael Assuncao has been MIA since October 2014.

Who should it be? Which of the two title threats should get the call to battle Cruz one more time?

Both are worthy of getting the shot, but the decision of who gets the call will likely come down to how the UFC wants to manage the division moving forward.

Faber, the No. 3-ranked contender, is Cruz’s chief rival. There is history to sell the fight upon, and Faber did not do terribly in their last encounter at UFC 132 in 2011. It’s still a viable rematch.

Dillashaw is the No. 1-ranked contender in the division following the title loss. Considering how dominant he looked against the likes of Barao (twice) and Joe Soto, there was no expectation he would fall behind anyone in the pecking order.

By determining the title hierarchy strictly by the sporting aspect, it would be easy to deduce that Dillashaw is the rightful contender ahead of Faber. However, the UFC is a promotion and not a sport. It has to not only sell a fight, but also look forward to future title possibilities.

Faber is the right choice for the UFC.

If the UFC books the immediate rematch between Cruz and Dillashaw, it runs the risk of hurting any future fights between the two. That is a risky proposition for this division in the long term.

Think of Rich Franklin and Joseph Benavidez and how they were always pressing their nose to the title window following their second losses to dominant champions. If Dillashaw is given room to breathe and another fight, then he can challenge again without the risk of being stuck on the outside for years to come.

The same risk is not there with Cruz vs. Faber III.

Cruz and Faber sit at 1-1 in their meetings, and given Faber’s age and Cruz’s injury history, the window for this fight to be a true elite contest is rapidly closing. This may be the last time the UFC has the opportunity to book this fight as a main event.

If Faber wins, it leaves the UFC with several options moving forward. Should Cruz retain, the UFC stays in the same position it is in now without risking any future harm to the division. The same could not be said if Cruz retains in a second straight fight over Dillashaw.

Thankfully, Faber is a legitimate contender, and the UFC choosing him over the immediate rematch is not an egregious call. Sean Shelby, the UFC bantamweight matchmaker, should be working on this fight as we speak. It’s best for business.

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TJ Dillashaw Talks Dominick Cruz Rematch, Potential Urijah Faber UFC Title Shot

T.J. Dillashaw has admitted he would be “sick to his stomach” if Urijah Faber is granted a shot at the UFC bantamweight title ahead of him earning a rematch with Dominick Cruz.  
Per Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting, Cruz is hoping to face Faber fo…

T.J. Dillashaw has admitted he would be “sick to his stomach” if Urijah Faber is granted a shot at the UFC bantamweight title ahead of him earning a rematch with Dominick Cruz.  

Per Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting, Cruz is hoping to face Faber for a third time in his next outing in the Octagon, and Dillashaw told The MMA Hour the following:

Why would he want to fight me when [we had] such a close fight and I feel that I won, and a lot of other people feel that I won that fight? That’s a lot more dangerous of a fight for him to take, and he’s trying to stay on top. I feel like Urijah looks like the easier fight and Dominick knows that.

I’ll probably be sick to my stomach if that happens, because why does he [Faber] deserve it? The only reason he deserves it is because he’s got a name. It’s not like he’s had performances where he should be in title contention. I don’t feel that he deserves that shot. I feel that I do. I feel that I won that fight. And it’ll make me sick to my stomach.

Cruz narrowly defeated Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 81 in a split decision after the pair produced an exceptionally close and high-quality encounter.

The 29-year-old is eager for an immediate rematch and will be taking his case to UFC President Dana White and chairman Lorenzo Fertitta. Per The MMA Hour, he said: “I think we’re going to be talking to Dana and Lorenzo here real soon. I’m kind of letting the dust settle. I don’t want to seem overly pushy about it. I told Dana after the fight that I want that rematch and I felt I deserved it, and so I’m hoping he’s taking that into consideration.”

The American further feels he deserves a rematch after Renan Barao—whom he won the UFC Bantamweight Championship belt off of with ease in a knockout—was handed one with him soon after they clashed for the first time, whereas he put in a much stronger performance against Cruz.

Bleacher Report’s Patrick Wyman believed Dillashaw deserved to win the fight, and he, along with SB Nation’s Luke Thomas, gave their take on why the judges ultimately ruled in favour of the Dominator:

UFC writer Damon Martin took no issue with the decision to award Cruz the fight, but he feels Dillashaw’s efforts earned him the right of an immediate rematch:

While a decisive trilogy fight between Cruz and Faber could hold some interest, Faber hasn’t strung together a consistent run of wins since 2013, and he hasn’t won at least five consecutive fights since 2008, so it could be argued he doesn’t deserve a chance to win the title at the moment.

Further, after such an incredible contest, the spectators’ choice would likely be a rematch and a shot for Dillashaw to reclaim his title.

White seems likely to recognise the desire to see the two step into the Octagon once again, so expect them to be facing off in their next fight.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Doninick Cruz Winning Title Could Open Door For Renan Barao

With two losses to now former champion TJ Dillashaw and previous issues cutting weight, it appeared as if the future for former bantamweight title holder Renan Barao lied at featherweight. It was rumored that “The Baron’s” next bout would take place at 145-pounds, but the bantamweight division has changed quite drastically in the last week.

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With two losses to now former champion TJ Dillashaw and previous issues cutting weight, it appeared as if the future for former bantamweight title holder Renan Barao lied at featherweight.

It was rumored that “The Baron’s” next bout would take place at 145-pounds, but the bantamweight division has changed quite drastically in the last week.

Dillashaw put his title on the line in the main event of last weekend’s (January 17, 2016) UFC Fight Night 81 against returning former divisional kingpin Dominick Cruz. After a back and forth battle it was “The Dominator” who walked away with the strap, adding life to a weight class he once ruled.

Not only did Cruz winning the title open up a ton of possibilities for the whole division, but it opened up an opportunity for Barao to secure yet another title shot.

Barao currently sits at No. 2 in the 135-pound rankings, and is only 1-2 in his last three appearances, scoring a submission victory over Mitch Gagnon, and dropping two stoppage losses to “Killashaw”.

Barao and Cruz were actually supposed to square off in 2014 when the Brazilian held the interim title, and “The Dominator” was stationed as the undisputed champion. However, another injury setback to Cruz forced the UFC to strip him of his title and promote Barao to the unified boss.

Now with “The Dominator” back at the helm, Barao’s longtime head coach Andre Pederneiras is hoping for another title shot, adding that Cruz coming out victorious was “great”:

“I can’t say the result wasn’t good for us. It was. The belt changing hands is great for us. If T.J. (Dillashaw) continued as champion, we wouldn’t have a third fight between T.J. and (Renan) Barao, so the result was really good for us. If you ask me if [another title shot is] what I want, of course it is. That’s what I want. But we have to wait and see how everything goes. It’s too soon to talk about it.” Pederneiras told MMAFighting.

Cruz likely has some business to handle with longtime rival Urijah Faber and possibly even a rematch with Dillashaw, but if Barao can get back to his winning ways, he could find himself challenging for UFC gold again soon.

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Destroyed! The Ten Worst Beatdowns In MMA History

Throughout the comparatively short history of mixed martial arts (MMA), there’ve expectedly been a host of fights that stand out as one-sided beatdowns from one man or woman to another. The bout’s referee stopped some of these fights mercifully, a participant’s corner stopped some, and some went to a decision, but ultimately they all featured

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Throughout the comparatively short history of mixed martial arts (MMA), there’ve expectedly been a host of fights that stand out as one-sided beatdowns from one man or woman to another.

The bout’s referee stopped some of these fights mercifully, a participant’s corner stopped some, and some went to a decision, but ultimately they all featured one-sided results

To be clear, we aren’t talking about one-punch or kick knockouts; those are a defined subset of a different sort. These bouts are just the most devastatingly one-sided contests in MMA history regardless of if they ended with a single knockout blow or not, and the magnitude of the fight was taken into account for judging.

They also not surprisingly feature some of the greatest fighters who’ve truly helped shape thee polished MMA picture we enjoy today.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the 10 worst beatdowns in MMA history.

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TJ Dillashaw Calls Out ‘Biased’ Joe Rogan: Watch It Again

The MMA world is still debating and dissecting Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 81 main event between Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw from Boston, a hotly contested and close fight that Cruz ultimately won by split decision to regain the belt he never lost in dramatic style. Many insist that Cruz used his elusiveness to make

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The MMA world is still debating and dissecting Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 81 main event between Dominick Cruz and TJ Dillashaw from Boston, a hotly contested and close fight that Cruz ultimately won by split decision to regain the belt he never lost in dramatic style.

Many insist that Cruz used his elusiveness to make the champion miss and land as many strikes as the pressuring Dillashaw did while maintaining a clear edge in the wrestling game, while others fervently believe that ‘The Viper’ did more than enough to win by constantly staying in Cruz’ face throughout the close fight.

Today Dillashaw took to Instagram to give his true thoughts on the fight after re-watching it, first proclaiming that it was not a robbery and the burden was on him for making it that close.

But with that said, Dillashaw then seemed to contradict himself by insisting that he won four rounds to one (which one judge somehow gave him), which would suggest it was a robbery. He also blasted Octagon commentator Joe Rogan for supposedly being biased towards Cruz during the fight.

Hop to the following page to find out what the understandably angry former champion had to say…

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Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Boston

With a blockbuster free card on FOX Sports 1, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kept their momentum rolling early this year with last night’s UFC Fight Night 81 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The card featured the long-awaited return of former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who returned from a multi-year injury layoff to

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With a blockbuster free card on FOX Sports 1, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kept their momentum rolling early this year with last night’s UFC Fight Night 81 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

The card featured the long-awaited return of former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who returned from a multi-year injury layoff to win a split decision over TJ Dillashaw in an emotional reclamation of the title he never actually lost. The riveting main event was obviously the highlight of the East Coast show, yet there were some other fighters who definitely deserve their own recognition for playing a part in the memorable card.

Let’s take a look at the five biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 81:

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