Dominick Cruz kommer garanterat hålla ett öga på titelmatchen mellan bantamviktsmästaren Cody Garbrandt och den #2-rankade T.J. Dillashaw. Nu avslöjar ”The Dominator” vem han tror tar hem vinsten.
Den före detta bantamviktsmästaren Dominick Cruz (22-2) är inte bara en av MMA-världens absoluta toppnamn, han är också en högt aktad kommentator för UFC.
Cruz var obesegrad mellan åren 2008-2016 då han förlorade sitt bälte mot Team Alpha Male-fightern Cody Garbrandt (11-0). Sedan dess har Cruz tagit tid för att återhämta sig från skador medan Garbrandt medverkat i den tjugofemte säsongen av The Ultimate Fighter där han tränar ett team av fighters.
Garbrandts motståndare i säsongen är den #2-rankade T.J. Dillashaw (14-3) som även är Garbrandts tidigare träningspartner. Efter att Dillashaw lämnade Team Alpha Male (TAM) startades dock ett ordkrig som ännu sjuder.
Garbrandt och Dillashaw kommer att mötas under UFC 213 den 8 juli och i det senaste avsnittet av The MMA Hour ger Cruz sin kommentarer kring den uppkommande matchen:
“I think Cody wins,” sade Cruz under gårdagens avsnitt av The MMA Hour. “Because I think that what’s happening with that whole situation, being involved on TUF Talk and seeing what’s going on, talking to (Duane) Ludwig, talking to Dillashaw, talking to Cody, talking to certain people as I move through the sport and do this analyst gig, I think this beef really is Faber’s beef. And I think Cody will pretty much listen to Faber. If Faber told him to jump off a bridge headfirst, he would do it.
“He’s fighting Faber’s fight for him, plus TJ’s up for the belt, so it makes it even easier for Cody to just say, ‘eff you, TJ,’ plus, ‘my favorite mentor and coach, dad, uncle, whatever you want to call him, hates you too, so I really hate you.’”
Stämningen är hätsk mellan Dillashaw och Team Alpha Male
Cruz tror att den dåliga stämningen mellan Dillashaw och hans före detta träningskamrater från Team Alpha Male kommer att påverka honom negativt då han under The Ultimate Fighter 25 är ständigt omringad av bland annat TAM-ledaren Urijah Faber.
Enligt Cruz så spelar Faber en stor roll i att den dåliga stämningen mellan Dillashaw och TAM fortsätter men att samma problematik inte skulle uppstå mellan Cruz och hans tränare:
“Realistically, in my opinion, if Faber cared about TJ as much as he said he did, then he would’ve let him leave and do what he needed to do to better his career as a friend and a coach,” sade Cruz. “(Alliance MMAs huvudtränare) Eric (del Fierro) has told me several times that if I ever need to leave our camp at Alliance and go anywhere, it wouldn’t matter, he would still manage me, still be my friend. He wants to see me do the best, wherever I think I need to go to be the best in the world. And my coach Eric del Fierro would never disown me, we would never have a problem. We’ve had this talk, ‘if you need to go, then go.’ Well, Faber couldn’t do that.
“It hurt his ego that his guy would go somewhere else and train with somebody that TJ thinks is better than Faber, and it hurt him that Ludwig was getting all this shine while he was at Faber’s camp, because that’s Faber’s camp. So that all being said, TJ isn’t just fighting Cody. He’s fighting that entire camp. He’s fighting Danny Castillo. He’s fighting Faber. He’s fighting Cody. He’s fighting all his old coaches. He’s fighting all his old friends and family members. I think that mental strain and the loneliness that he’s feeling on that show and over this period of time is wearing on him, and I think that the mental aspects of that are what gets him beat against Cody, not the technical aspects that TJ has.”
Cruz tror att Dillashaw har vad som krävs
Trots att ”The Dominator” tror att det blir Garbrandt som går hem med bältet så säger han ändå att ”Killashaw” har vad som krävs för att besegra ”No Love” Garbrandt.
Cruz tror dock att den mentala belastningen slutligen kommer bli Dillashaws undergång.
“I think stylistically, TJ has the technique and the tools to beat a guy like Cody,” fortsatte Cruz. “He kicks fluently, he mixes his punches and kicks. Cody has the edge in the power in the pocket, but TJ can make up the pocket work with kicks, movement, and angles, and he’s kicking a little bit more than I did against Cody, so I think that will play to his advantage. But as for the mental game, I think the fact that TJ is facing that whole camp, not just Cody Garbrandt, I think that’s really wearing on TJ. I think it’s going to keep wearing on him. I think the mental is what gets him beat against Cody.”
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Omslagsbild: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
