This Sunday will see the past meet the present and attack tackle defence as one of the longest running sagas in the UFC finally comes to an end.
Bantamweight king T.J. Dillashaw and former champion Dominick ‘the Dominator’ Cruz collide in Boston for one of the most skill-rich bouts in MMA history.
And one of the hardest to call, too. There has been a tendency to paint these two with the same brush, the idea being that either is a lesser version of the other.
Both are innovative fighters and both have tried new things, asking questions that the rest of the division has so far struggled to answer.
But although Cruz and Dillashaw embrace similar concepts, it’s their own interpretations of these concepts that differ.
Footwork and generational styles have commanded much of the build-up as the old versus the new narrative is tossed around.
Cruz, the inaugural UFC titleholder at 135lbs, is unbeaten in the Octagon but his career has been punctured by injuries, forcing him to vacate the belt in January 2014.
Three ACL tears have been compounded by broken hands and a torn groin; it’s been almost 16 months since he last fought, blowing away Takeya Mizugaki in the first round.
We’ve only seen 60 seconds of action from him in four years and during that injury-induced inactivity Dillashaw has, to take Cruz’s alias, dominated. His performance in ripping the belt away from menacing Brazilian Renan Barao at UFC 173 was breathtaking. Arguably, it’s one of the most outstanding title triumphs in UFC history.
He brought a near 10-year unbeaten streak to an end with volume and combination work, synchronised with rock-solid striking fundamentals and a mastery of transition. Barao was dumbfounded, Joe Soto followed suit before the Brazilian took another battering in their rematch.
The unorthodox movement married with his aggressiveness heralded a new era in MMA.
The only problem, was opponents. We knew he had Barao’s number and aside from him, Dillashaw hasn’t really fought the top competition. And that’s what grinds Cruz most.
“T.J. Dillashaw thinks he’s the greatest guy ever while I cleaned out the division for Dillashaw. Dillashaw copied my style that I created,” he said in the build-up.
In truth, he was a pioneer. When he was on top in 2011 his circles and side-steps, stance switches and
angles was cutting-edge.
But that was 2011. The game has changed considerably since then and Dillashaw has taken those fundamentals and evolved them.
For Cruz, that footwork and movement is largely defensive but for the champ, it’s a pressure tactic, forcing his opponent toward the fence and cutting the route of escape.
His striking game looks superficially like an updated version of Cruz’s, with similarly odd and unpredictable movement but with power and technical soundness.
He lands at a higher rate and when you combine that with his greater natural power, he is infinitely more dangerous.
That’s not to say Cruz can’t win. He’s an exceptionally smart fighter, as his breakdown analysis for Fox Sports shows, and it would be quite the fairy tale if he did prize the belt back after his injury hell.
Yet, he is the old master of the bantamweight division and it’s time to marvel at the new man to carry the torch forward.
