Cruz vs Garbrandt is official for UFC 207 according to the UFC website! Set as the co-main event, Dominick Cruz will defend his bantamweight title agains Cody Garbrandt. Cruz vs Garbrandt will be the second title fight at UFC 207 as Ronda Rousey will return to challenge bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in the main event.
Cruz vs Garbrandt and not Cruz vs Dillashaw II?
Much speculation was made over whether Cody Garbrandt or TJ Dillashaw would get the title shot. On one hand you have Garbrandt, the tatt’d up knockout artist who has a bit of bad blood with Cruz. He may not have overwhelming experience, but he’s exciting to watch and could be a potential future star. He has a marketable image and an exciting style to show off in promos.
However, Dillashaw has an equally strong case for a rematch.
When Cruz defeated Dillashaw to take his belt, the two engaged in a razor-close decision; many fans and media members felt Dillashaw should have kept his belt. Since then, Dillashaw soundly defeated top contender Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200. In my opinion, Dillashaw did enough to warrant the rematch, but I’m not upset a the UFC’s decision to give Garbrandt the shot. After all, I wouldn’t doubt if Cruz prefers the Garbrandt match up over Dillashaw.
Why would Cruz, a guy who is wanting to build his own brand, want to rematch someone who gave him a tough fight when he could fight a relatively inexperienced-yet-marketable prospect in Garbrandt?
Next for TJ Dillashaw?
Was TJ unfairly skipped over?
So with the bantamweight title shot off the table for Dillashaw, what is next? I guess the first thing to consider is whether or not Dillashaw will even continue fighting for the UFC. He said before how he wouldn’t even consider the UFC a sport if it gave Garbrandt a title shot. With the announcement of Cruz vs Garbrandt, I can assume Dillashaw will be extremely upset, and might even jump ship.
Assuming he stays, John Lineker would make an appropriate opponent.
Lineker is a former flyweight contender who is 4-0 since moving to 135 lbs. He’s also an exciting fighter who many could also see getting a title shot against Cruz. With a recent victory over John Dodson, Lineker is ready for an elite test. Dillashaw vs Lineker could easily headline a Fight Night card, and would be must-see fight for MMA fans. Violence would be ensured.
The Matchup: Cruz vs Garbrandt
As far as the actual matchup between Dominick Cruz and Garbrandt goes, I’m predicting Cruz to be a heavy favorite. This is because there isn’t anybody in the UFC like him. We thought TJ Dillashaw had a pretty similar style, but when they fought in January of 2016, it was clear that even a wizard like Dillashaw couldn’t figure Cruz out. If Dillashaw, a guy with some of the best trainers in the game in MusclePharm, couldn’t figure Cruz out, I don’t have faith Garbrandt will.
Garbrandt’s style, as we know so far, centers around his explosive boxing. He has fast hands that deliver knockout power, but so far hasn’t fought anybody with the movement, speed, and defensive skill of Cruz. Furthermore, we have only seen very little of Garbrandt’s wrestling skills. Garbrandt was a senior All-American and state champion wrestler in high school, but as we know, these credentials don’t always translate into MMA wrestling. Being that Garbrandt is primarily known for his striking, I assume Cruz will have a pretty steep advantage in the wrestling department based on what we’ve seen Cruz do in the Octagon.
One interesting x-factor in this fight is that Cody Garbrandt is from Team Alpha Male. This is the camp that Urijah Faber so prominently trains out of, but is also where TJ Dillashaw used to train. Faber has fought Cruz three times (recently losing the trilogy at UFC 199), so he should be a very valuable asset to Garbrandt in preparing for Cruz. However, this could also be a detriment. Team Alpha Male has had a long-standing rivalry agaisnt Dominic Cruz for some time, and after years of this, they still haven’t managed to beat him.
Will Garbrandt be the key? Or will Cruz continue to reign superior against Team Alpha Male contenders?
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