Dominick Cruz explains gameplan for Cody Garbrandt fight
UFC bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz is widely believed to be one of the best fighters in the UFC. The bantamweight champion recently made his triumphant return to the Octagon earlier this year, where he reclaimed the bantamweight championship he never lost inside the Octagon. After reclaiming the championship belt, Cruz stepped into the Octagon to square off with longtime nemesis Urijah Faber in the co-main event of UFC 199 back in June. Cruz put on a spectacular performance as he picked up a dominant unanimous decision win over Faber.
Now, Cruz is slated to fight Faber’s Team Alpha Male protégée, Cody Garbrandt, at UFC 207 on December 30th at the UFC’s New Year’s Eve card. Ahead of that fight, Cruz spoke with TMZ to fire back at Garbrandt’s recent comments criticizing his fighting style, saying
“That’s his take on it, and if you hear him…he’s not the most intelligent guy in the world. There’s two ways to go about this. There’s taking the damage, taking the chances, walking into the center and being willing to take punches in order to give punches, and then there’s me. Where, I’m going to put myself in the smallest ratio of taking damage, and that way I can use my brain and continue to beat you down round after round, pick you apart, take as minimal amount of damage as I can while I just beat you up. I’m going to mix it up on you, keep you guessing so much that at the end of it you’re just going to wish I would put you out of your misery. I’m just going to keep beating you down, tagging you up, and making you look silly. Step by step, minute by minute, round by round, until you beg me to stop you.”
Cruz’ style is certainly one of the most frustrating for opponents, with his lightning fast footwork, and extremely precise head movement, fighters often have a hard time connecting when attempting to tag Cruz.
With that being said, Cody Garbrandt has incredible one-punch knockout power, and has finished all but one of his professional wins by KO/TKO.
Who takes the bantamweight strap home December 30th?