IF YOU WANT to truly be the best, you have to beat the best. TJ Dillashaw will get that opportunity tonight at the TD Garden in Boston.
Dillashaw will put his UFC bantamweight title on the line against the first — and widely regarded as the best — champion in the history of the UFC’s 135lbs division.
Dominick Cruz has been plagued by injuries for the past four-and-a-half years, which has restricted him to just one appearance in the octagon — a 61-second demolition of Takeya Mizugaki, which happened 16 months ago at UFC 178.
Cruz was stripped of the title due to his lengthy absence so he never actually lost the belt, but his lack of competitive action since his October 2011 title defence against Demetrious Johnson is his major concern heading into tonight’s headline bout against Dillashaw at UFC Fight Night 81.
During his reign as champion, Cruz was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He believes he can regain that status, but will ring-rust be an issue? It’s a guessing game until the 30-year-old Arizona native returns to the octagon tonight.
If Cruz isn’t at the peak of his powers, he’ll struggle to overcome the man that twice dismantled his successor, Renan Barao, who for a while was regarded as unbeatable in the bantamweight division.
MMA has evolved since ‘The Dominator’ was at its summit so it will be intriguing to see if he stays true to the qualities that saw him succeed previously — evasive movement, unpredictable attacks and smooth transitions to counter-takedowns — or will a new version of Dominick Cruz present itself?
When it comes to striking, there are many similarities between Cruz and Dillashaw. The reigning champion’s footwork is also impressive but the former Team Alpha Male product can boast higher and more aggressive output.
Dillashaw will seek to utilise his stand-up to win this one, but if Cruz does opt to shoot, the champion won’t panic. He’s never been taken down and his wrestling is extremely accomplished.
If Dillashaw can prevent Cruz from making a dream comeback, there’ll be no more reasons to doubt his claim to the bantamweight throne.
Tonight’s card had its fair share of misfortune on the injury front but it’s not a bad line-up at all, with former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis aiming to take the first step towards regaining the title when he faces Eddie Alvarez in the co-main event.
Travis Browne’s meeting with Matt Mitrione has the potential to be an entertaining heavyweight clash, but don’t overlook the prelims either — particularly the lightweight bout between Paul Felder and Daron Cruickshank on the Fight Pass portion of the bill.
Main card (3am — BT Sport 2)
TJ Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz
Anthony Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez
Travis Browne vs. Matt Mitrione
Ross Pearson vs. Francisco Trinaldo
TV prelims (1am — BT Sport 2)
Patrick Cote vs. Ben Saunders
Tim Boetsch vs. Ed Herman
Chris Wade vs. Mehdi Baghdad
Maximo Blanco vs. Luke Sanders
Early prelims (11pm — UFCFightPass.com)
Paul Felder vs. Daron Cruickshank
Ilir Latifi vs. Sean O’Connell
Charles Rosa vs. Kyle Bochniak
Rob Font vs. Joey Gomez
Francimar Barroso vs. Elvis Mutapcic
Who’ll be victorious in tonight’s bantamweight title bout?
