Dominick Cruz: How much is left in the tank?
An icon of the sport, Dominick Cruz has been one of the foremost pioneers of the lighter weight divisions for the last 10 years, bringing new found eyes to the smaller fighters in MMA. Known for his unorthodox footwork, slick boxing acumen and powerful wrestling, the American, while often gaining his wins through the judges scorecards, never fails to please the eye. Perhaps the greatest thwart to “The Dominator’s” greatness is his injury history, after his victory over Demetrious Johnson at UFC: Cruz vs Johnson, the former WEC Bantamweight champion took close to a three year layoff due to primarily, an ACL injury. Further to this, Cruz took an additional three and a half year hiatus between his losses to Cody Garbrandt and Henry Cejudo. He has stated that he has maintained a clean bill of health for the past 18 months, fighting twice since May 2020, a positive feat for someone so susceptible to being side lined. But how much has he got left? A career riddled with injuries, a plethora of 25 minute bouts and the ever encumbering “father time”.
Having already left a legendary legacy in his wake, Dominick Cruz has returned in the past 10 months to add to his already impressive resume, which includes wins over the likes of TJ Dillashaw, Uriah Faber (x2), Joe Benavidez and the aforementioned “Mighty Mouse”. His fabled return last year ended in a defeat to Henry Cejudo, a loss which carries no shame whatsoever, Cruz was a late replacement for Jose Aldo and came up against a Cejudo who was fighting on a five fight win streak, three of those wins coming in title bouts. The fight ended controversially, with Keith Peterson subject to a claim from Cruz that the fight was stopped early, either way, I do not see any way the California native would’ve have beaten “Triple C” that night.
Last weekend we were fortunate to a see a glimpse of vintage Dominick Cruz, although he was tested, the former Bantamweight UFC champion got his first win inside the cage for almost five years, a monumental statistic. Although one judge gave the fight to Kenney, for me it was pretty clear Cruz stole two of the three rounds up for grabs. Utilising his looping hooks and ever present evasiveness, Casey Kenney never seemed to be able to catch the rhythm of his opponent. Cruz was too slick and quick, outwitting his counterpart for the majority of the 15 minutes. Kenney, who has an extensive grappling background (A black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, 2nd degree black belt in Judo and a multiple time state champion in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling) was not able to use this to his advantage, failing in both of his takedown attempts. Kenney certainly did himself proud in defeat, taking the part time UFC commentator and analyst to deep waters, however Cruz’s striking was a level above Kenney’s, the American had no answer to it. While this was certainly not prime Cruz in the cage, the 5ft 8 fighter did show he still has talent and speed enough to compete with the upper echelons of the division.
What’s next for “The Dominator”? Well, apparently charity fighting, The two time UFC champion went on a bizarre and rather awkward rant about Hans Molenkamp during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, a business development rep for Monster energy, and a long time sponsor of Cruz. whether this friction between the two will ever lead to anything is irrelevant to me, an unwelcome distraction. With the few years remaining in his career it would be a shame if he persists down this road, there are plenty of contenders for him to fight, Bantamweight is a shark tank, if the High School wrestler truly wants to test himself, he needs to be paired with similarly ranked opponents. For me, the fight that ticks all the boxes is one with future hall of famer, Frankie Edgar. The former Lightweight champion is coming of the back of a horrendous KO defeat to the hands of #2 contender, Cory Sandhagen, and while it may be a while until the former Division I wrestler is back in action, it seems to be the appropriate bout for both their careers currently. #7 vs #9, two future hall of famers and two fighters who love to meet in the middle of the octagon and trade blows. In a matchup between the two former UFC champions, I would have to side with Dominick Cruz, I think Cruz would outpoint Edgar and has the wrestling defence to be able to keep the fight standing. My biggest fear with the 35 year old, is seeing him become a gatekeeper. I truly hope the UFC still see him as a marketable asset and do not utilise him in a manner similar to the likes of Junior dos Santos and Alastair Overeem. Yet do not be surprised if we see him matched up against Merab Dvalishvili, for example.
Overall, there is still plenty left for “The Dominator”, I believe he has an honest chance of beating most fighters ranked below 7th or 8th, while I do not believe he would be able to maintain pace with the crème de la crème of the 135lbs division, he certainly has excitement and talent to offer.
