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Henry Cejudo vs. Dominick Cruz is one of the UFC 249 starters this May 9, 2020 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Summary of a sentence:
David: Back From Death Versus Headed For It
Phil: Arrogant vs stubborn for the bantamweight crown
Statistics:
Record: Henry Cejudo 15-2 | Dominick Cruz 22-2
Possibilities: Henry Cejudo -225 Dominick Cruz +205
History / Introduction to both fighters
David: Say what you want about him, but Cejudo is doing the kinds of things that everyone credited Conor McGregor for not having done, which is actually defending the titles he won. Up to that point, I give you accessories. On the other hand, we have to hear him speak. Well, technically we don’t. But a job is a job. To that end, we only ended up here because Cejudo wanted the José Aldo fight, which in itself was a head-butt, all due to Aldo’s respect, but only Chael Sonnen can win title fights without losing. Part of me is fine with this type of political pairing. This is how Pride built auras with Fedor, CroCop and Nog, because their greatest victories were surrounded by the violence of easy confrontations. But now we have moved from political pairing to barrel scraping. Hilariously, the UFC managed to find gold in the mud this time. Because Cruz is dangerous.
Phil: My podcast co-host came up with an interesting idea about Cejudo: that he’s always been a little bit practical, kind of like McGregor. You need to be motivated to become the best at something, and if you don’t know where you’re going, you’re distracted. The stories of how he basically had to be dragged back to his training at the Olympics, or the latest memories of how he repeatedly ruined the weight cuts. You might have decided that you are in the cash withdrawal stage, and that it is time to pursue fights with faded legends. It establishes a dynamic that could backfire … but probably won’t.
David: As Roy Jones Jr once said during his failed rap career, “You must have forgotten!” However, there is a good reason why we forgot. Even the most loyal fans lost count of how many ACLs Cruz has flown, how many groin were ripped, how many shoulders were injured, plantar fasciitis – basically the worst parts of the Bible. The injury that cats and dogs have experienced together in the fabric of Cruz since 2012. It is inspiring to suffer all that and think “I still have it”. I should be too hurt for this shit. He is not. And here we are.
Phil: I mean he could He’s still too hurt for this shit, it’s just that the commission doctors are too busy looking for COVID-19 to be able to pick up any part of him that has fallen since he last entered the cage. Also, they have never been the most diligent types at best. It is a strange position in which Cruz finds himself; a bit like his rival Faber a few years back, he’s fighting for a belt when there are more deserving contenders, and when he knows himself getting it in there because he’s not favored to win.
What is at stake?
David: A little more than usual. After all, the winner can end up on Mortal Kombat Island and fight for the fate of the world.
Phil: If Cruz somehow wins this, he is the author of perhaps the biggest comeback in the sport, made all the more remarkable by the fact that he has done it once before. If Cejudo walks away and retains? Who knows, more silly fights.
Where do they want it?
David: Cejudo has evolved from his fighter shell to become a better boxer, basically. I don’t know where this idea comes from; which is a butterfly edgelord. For me, his style has not changed as much as he is learning to be a better problem solver. When you look at his recent fights compared to his previous fights, he’s only making quicker adjustments. Against Moraes, he realized that switching legs to linguini was a bad idea, so he solved the distance problem with better innings of shots. Against DJ, he started to better anticipate his opponent’s offense (mixed-performance IMO, since I still think DJ won). Dillashaw introduced himself as a cancer patient and was buckled. As good as Cejudo is, his winning titles have not taught us as much as we think. And MMA is a story that spins like a dose of ritalin. A title won, and we have entered its “era”. Two titles won, and you have a statue in Philadelphia. None of this is taking away Cejudo’s genuine ability. Cejudo has excellent hands. No matter how many women challenge a cage fight, their fight IQ is high. His fight credits speak for themselves. And the fact that he has transitioned from a legitimate sports career to a successful wrestling career is a testament to his strength. But I mention this because I think Cruz has a real chance to win. Yes, even the current version of the Resident Evil experiment.
Phil: Cejudo has developed in strange directions. The fight never really served much more than a safety valve in his early career years, where he simply closed and hit and closed and hit, occasionally throwing his opponent to the mat. Unlike some converts, their fight never flourished again, though ironically it served as the centerpiece of their best “win” over DJ, characterized by high control and inertia. The clinch offense and blows around him have become much more threatening for power: whether Cejudo has a single or double collar, has an iron grip, and his previous feathers with a feathered fist have become legitimately dangerous. He’s still a one-handed puncher (his fight with Moraes was basically switching from right-handed and orthodox left-handed jab until Moraes stepped into it) and his tendency to explode with significant commitments could cause him to skyrocket. The Cross that we have known and loved for more than 4 years.
David: At his best, no one entered and left the attack entrances like Cruz. Its lateral movement was built like a katamari ball, creating momentum and density until the opponent lost all hope just from the simple movement. The rest of her skills weren’t much to write to. His fists have minimal power, he doesn’t kick as much, and while his fight is good, he doesn’t have enough submission prowess to really threaten in a dominant or even implicit way. And yet it was hard to imagine someone hitting him up to Cody Garbrandt. Not to relive that fight here, but it is a fight with its own story to tell. You can see where the injury years were, and this was before His current four-year layoff finally made itself felt. He no longer took full side strides out of pocket, his movement was more hectic, less confident, and less fast. Also, almost all of Cody’s success came from catching Cruz. in. That is not to make excuses. It’s just, the simplest explanation and everything. Cruz’s ability always depended on input agility. He lost that. The extent to which he will be punished remains to be seen in the cage. Other than that, you just need to count your medical bills.
Phil: Cruz is one of those fighters where both of them can clearly see how injuries would negatively affect their game, and where they can also easily see how he collects so many injuries. Throw, stutter the steps and play with the angles. Much of his style is based on deception, and this extends to his striking form, where he stretches his arms out to their limits to turn them in a different direction from where he came from, which generally robs them of their power. I think I referred to him at some point as someone with a deep library of angles and focuses, but where everything in the library is written in ALL CAPITALS. However, even in the quotation mark of the modern era, there are many things I like about Cruz’s approach. He emphasizes the pace, the combination of punches, and the diversity, and while not many of his UFC opponents finished, it must have been an absolutely miserable experience fighting him. What made it all work was the fight: Mistakes in the position to drop a clean double leg are simply greater than necessary to deliver an effective shot, so Cruz’s exaggeration has historically worked to lure opponents into a Educated Takedown Collection.
Perception of past fights?
David: Unlike most high-profile matchups, your losses tell us a lot. Cejudo’s losses told us a lot about his development and about the fighter who still persists in that development. Cruz’s loss told us a lot about the realities of his human-Lopan fragility. That leaves us, where, I don’t know. But I will say this. Suppose Cruz is even 70 percent of the man who was tricked by Garbrandt. How does that guy face Cejudo? Take hot: reasonably well. Cejudo is still a pocket fighter. While his movement is much better (he even changes his stance!), It’s still a perfect base for Cruz to open double legs, knee shots, and those wide-angle shots. No, obviously, I am not talking about Cruz surpassing Cejudo: I only point out that the positions that Cruz can take advantage of. Cruz beat Dillashaw to a great extent in this strategy: sometimes, being tagged or pushed, Cruz was able to beat TJ on the strength of his level changes. Cruz does not even have to be shot down. Just leave Cejudo trying to fight back, and on his back foot. Cejudo is a stronger puncher than TJ, but is not as dynamic. Nor does Cejudo press as TJ does.
Phil: The main analog for “right-handed and athletic wrestling boxer” on Cruz’s resume is probably Urijah Faber, and specifically his second fight, which was closer than it should have been. Unfortunately for Cruz, his insistence on volume and rhythm can be used against him by people who simply wait until they are Of course they can hit him and then try to exchange as hard as they can. As such, Faber put Cruz on his butt multiple times. However, on the other side of the equation, Cejudo’s attempts to shut down fighters with range or speed advantages over him (mostly DJs and Moraes) have been mostly miserable. So it’s a reasonably intriguing shock, or would be if Cruz were intact.
X factors
David: Two fighters coming out of injuries fighting amid a global pandemic … I think there is a word for that …
Phil: Lmao
Forecast
David: I have to continue with my weapons. I have never been a serious analyst anyway. Yes, I am going to choose Cruz. Even knowing that Cruz is a shell of his former self. Still, shells can be dangerous. Much of Cruz’s vulnerabilities stem from single shots from fighters who catch him entering (Cody) or launching themselves (TJ, Faber). Cejudo does not have that temperament. And Cruz has a big chin. It’s enough? Probably not. But nothing is more fleeting than MMA gold. If Cejudo, after having won gold in two divisions, and on the way to successfully defend both … he lost everything because he fought with Dominick Cruz, his cousin, in a short time himself in four years, dismissal – in between of a pandemic? Well, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing we’ve seen in MMA. Dominick Cruz by decision.
Phil: Prime vs prime, I think Cruz wins this. He has a size advantage, and any flaw in his shot would be offset by how purely monotonous Cejudo is. I also think that Cejudo’s tendency to bite and just chase him, which he used to that end against Moraes, would be counterproductive for someone like Cruz, who wouldn’t panic and instead accumulate more volume and takedowns calmly. That said, it is nothing more than an illusion to suppose that Cruz is at his best. Coming back after an injury-ridden three-year layoff is one thing, but two of them? Sometimes, like Velásquez-Ngannou, you just have to assume that you are going to see a ghost of the man who entered there the last time. Henry Cejudo for TKO, round 2.
