Thomas Gerbasi:Dominick Cruz and The Art of Perpetual Motion

I feel like every time I fight I’m not defending anything. Nobody owns the belt; you just go out there and win a new one every time you fight." - Dominick Cruz

If you look at the top bantamweights in the world, Dominick Cruz has beaten practically all of them. Urijah Faber, Brian Bowles, Joseph Benavidez (twice), and Scott Jorgensen have all fallen at the hands of the UFC champion, but as he prepares for his latest challenge, a Saturday night main event against Demetrious Johnson, there is no more or less pressure on him; it’s just another fight.

“I feel like every time I fight I’m not defending anything,” said Cruz. “Nobody owns the belt; you just go out there and win a new one every time you fight. So this is just another fight. Fighting Faber, beating Faber, that was just another step in my career that I needed to make happen for myself. I did it, I accomplished another one of my goals that I set, and that’s how I look at it. I’m going out to fight another fight, win a new belt, and put a beating on DJ.”

If that sounds like the confident words of a champion, that would be accurate, and Cruz has earned such a right with his performances. Unbeaten at 135 pounds, a weight class he has graced since 2008, the San Diego native won the WEC and UFC versions of the bantamweight title, but he didn’t truly put his stamp on the division until July, when he defeated the only man to beat him as a pro (at featherweight) in Faber. The five round war won Fight of the Night honors at UFC 132, but it wasn’t until the next morning that everything sunk in for the champion.

“It was like a weight off my shoulders,” said Cruz of beating Faber. “There were a lot of emotions tied into that fight, and not just because of the trash talking, but because deep down inside I knew I could beat him, and I knew that I was supposed to beat him. It was something I just had to do and wanted to do. So there was a lot of pressure, and a lot that I put on myself more than anything. I’m my own worst critic, and anything that anybody can say about me, I’ve already said about myself and thought about it, so to lose to Faber the way that I did (in 2007), it wasn’t necessarily that I lost; it was the way that I lost so quickly. I didn’t even get to fight him and he didn’t even get to see who I was. Nobody got to see who I was in that fight. And this last fight, I got to go out there and show it and prove it and get that W. It was an unbelievable feeling, it’s an accomplishment, and I feel really good about it.”

So do the fans that got to witness a bout that lived up to every ounce of the pre-fight hype that surrounded it. Cruz wasn’t surprised though, as he knew the first 135-pound main event in UFC history was going to deliver.

“I knew that he would (bring it) and I knew that I would,” said Cruz. “So I kinda assumed that was something that was gonna take place. I knew that me and him was either gonna be a five round war that was gonna be an awesome fight at a high pace, or I was gonna go out there and sleep him in the first round. I’m always willing to go to war – I invite the war, I accept the war, and I look forward to the war. That’s what it was and I’m glad we were able to put on a good show for the fans and it was something that I expected.”

Saturday’s bout against Johnson, a powerhouse wrestler with lightning-fast takedowns, promises more of the same. The only question is if Cruz, after all the emotions attached to the Faber fight, can go back to the mental well once more just three months later.

“We’re fighting for a world title – if that doesn’t get you hyped up, what does?” said Cruz. “This is fighting on the biggest stage on the planet for the highest accolade you could possibly get in fighting. I’m hyped every single time I fight. I’m hyped to fight somebody new, I’m hyped to have a new problem to solve in there with a different opponent. DJ’s not somebody to look past. That guy beat Miguel Torres and Kid Yamamoto back to back. The guy’s an underdog that loves the underdog role, and uses it well to fuel him. And that’s exactly what he plans on using to fuel himself against me. But it’s not gonna work because I don’t look at him that way. I look at him as just as tough, and tougher in some ways, than Faber was.”

Guess that answers that question. So what about the idea that Cruz, the presumed fastest gun in the division, may be facing someone even faster in Washington State’s “Mighty Mouse”? That’s going to be an intriguing plotline to see play out at Verizon Center, but one that isn’t fazing Cruz too much.

“He’s pretty quick, but everybody’s quick when they’re comfortable or of you fight them a certain way,” counters the champion. “He’s never fought a high-level wrestler except for Kid Yamamoto, and Yamamoto sat down on his punches very hard and was trying to take his head off with every punch, and you can’t fight a guy like Johnson like that because he plans on that and looks forward to you doing that so he can take you down. There’s just a specific way you gotta fight every single person; you can’t fight everyone the same. I don’t think he’s the quickest I’ve fought. How are you gonna say that he’s faster than Faber or Benavidez? He’s just a different kind of fast and he has a different look than anybody else I’ve fought. He’s got a good rhythm, he’s got good timing on his takedowns, and it’s all about fighting him a certain way and making him uncomfortable.”

And if you haven’t watched Cruz in action, let’s just say that perhaps no fighter can make you as uncomfortable as he can. With cardio for days (he’s fought three five rounders in a row), constant movement and a striking style that has you guessing where the next punch is coming from, Cruz is one of those rare athletes that you can’t figure out. And just when you think you have got a bead on him, he switches it up all over again.

“I’m always training, evolving and trying to get better,” said the 26-year old. “You fight me once, I’m one fighter, you fight me another time, I’m a different fighter. And the other thing is, I don’t fight everybody the same. Even though I’ve got the same sort of style, my gameplan for every person is different. I change up my strikes, I change up the angles to a different side, and I have gameplans according to what my opponents do for every fight.”

But the real secret is that he’s not just focusing on himself, but he’s watching everybody else as he rounds out his MMA game.

“I’m always watching everybody,” he said. “I’m a fan of the sport, and I’m learning from every newcomer that comes in and I’m learning from every veteran and I’m trying to grow and improve. I watch tons of boxing and I think it’s an art and it’s beautiful. And I mix that in with my kickboxing and my wrestling. But you can’t just use boxing and go out there and win. You can’t just use Muay Thai and go out there and win. You have to be able to take certain things from every art and you add it to your style. The beautiful thing about MMA is that there’s always something to add.”

With that attitude, his skillset, and the idea that he’s not the champion, but a hungry challenger, Dominick Cruz may be settling in for a long reign at the top. But maybe settling isn’t the right word, because this is one fighter who can never sit still for very long – in or out of the Octagon. And that’s just the way he likes it.

“I live for this,” he said. “I’m having a blast, I’m loving every second of it and I’m taking it all in. You see me after my fights, I put my hands up, close my eyes, and after every win and before every single fight, I’m soaking in the energy and loving every second of this. I’m in the one percentile of the entire planet, I’m doing something that I love to do, and God has blessed me, so it’s unbelievable and I’m loving it.”

Michael DiSanto: The Blueprint - Cruz vs. Johnson

Saturday night's main event features a bantamweight title bout between Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson. Michael DiSanto breaks it down...

 

The UFC Bantamweight Championship is up for grabs for the third time since the promotion added the division to the roster late last year.

Dominick Cruz is the reigning champion. With wins over Urijah Faber, Brian Bowles, Joseph Benavidez and Scott Jorgensen, he is truly one of the elite fighters in the world, despite the fact that he is still a newcomer to UFC fans.

Demetrious Johnson is the challenger. Nonetheless, he is probably better known to UFC fans because he has already competed twice inside the Octagon, compared to just once for Cruz. In those two fights, Johnson toppled two of the division’s biggest names, Miguel Torres and Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto.

Whether or not fans recognize the names, this fight is must-see TV. Generally speaking, the bantamweights put on incredibly entertaining fights. It’s often like watching the Energizer Bunny fight his twin brother on fast forward. Cruz versus Johnson should be that plus a large dose of caffeine because these guys put the pedal to the metal once the action gets underway, and neither one stops until the bout has concluded, regardless of how long it lasts.

Cruz is a pretty straightforward fighter. He likes to mix wrestling and kickboxing, often equally willing to slug it out on the feet or take an opponent down and slug him on the ground. He isn’t really a submission guy. Just one of his 18 professional wins came by tap out. His blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu also isn’t going to scare anybody. That is about as novice as one would expect for a UFC champion.

Still, Cruz is far from a novice ground fighter. Sure, his lone career loss was by submission, but he was completely out on his feet, thanks to a perfectly executed knee strike, when he basically gave his neck to Faber, begging to be submitted. Other than that, Cruz hasn’t succumbed to any ground fighter’s attacks. So, one must assume that his submission defense is much better than that of a traditional blue belt. He might not surprise anyone with a flying armbar, but I am quite sure that he knows how to defend one.

On paper, Johnson should be Cruz’s kryptonite. He is a very good wrestler with solid submission skills that have seen him end five of his career victories by tap out. Yet, Faber also fit that description, and most probably believe that Faber is both a better wrestler and better ground fighter than Johnson. Yet, he could not pass the Cruz test back in July.

In other words, I’m not sure that Johnson has the BJJ chops to catch Cruz in something, unless he first lands a fight-altering strike to scramble the champion’s wits. Granted, that is based in large part on how Cruz looked in his recent fight against Faber. That might not be a fair assessment. It is what it is.

I think Cruz will come out looking to stick and move, just like he did against Faber. Johnson will look to strike just long enough to set up a takedown. He wants no part of a slugfest with Cruz. I’m not suggesting that Cruz is a standup crusher. He is not. Then again, very few guys south of 155 pounds possess legitimate one-strike knockout power.

Instead, Cruz is a very good, technical striker. He strikes with incredible speed and uses very good footwork and lateral movement to keep his opponent off balance. He also frustrates his foes with shots thrown from unconventional angles and his constant herky-jerky motion.

Johnson cannot match him on the feet, so he should not try. He needs to take the fight to the place where Cruz is the least comfortable—on his back.

Easier said than done.

Again, Faber is one of the best wrestlers in the bantamweight division. Yet, he could not turn things into a grappling match with the champion. That doesn’t leave me feeling good about Johnson’s chances at accomplishing that goal, but it certainly can be done.

Cruz’s awkward standup style is predicated on the fact that he is a come-forward fighter. If Johnson can get him to move backward by applying calculated pressure via a rapid, accurate jab, Cruz should start moving backward. Johnson can use that opportunity to change levels and shoot under his opponent’s counters or high guard. Cruz has a great sprawl, but nobody has a great sprawl when moving backward while trying to counter or cover up.

Once the fight hits the ground, Johnson should use punches and elbows to open the door for submissions. Cruz is very good at scrambling back to his feet, so working from a pure grappling perspective isn’t a great idea. Johnson needs to force the champion to defend strikes, which will preclude him from effectively scrambling. If Cruz spends three or four minutes of a round on his back, one must assume that the blue belt will make a mistake that Johnson can capitalize on.

Then again, maybe not. But who really cares? Any time Johnson spends in the top position is time spent winning the fight. Time spent on the feet likely means time spent losing the fight.

Like the co-featured bout between Pat Barry and Stefan Struve, this bout is all about where the fight unfolds. Cruz has the advantage on the feet. Johnson has the advantage on the ground. The man who dictates where the action unfolds more often than not will win the fight, absent someone capitalizing on a silly, fight-stopping mistake.

I will admit that I was not a Cruz believer heading in to his July bout with Faber. I’m a believer now, particularly after re-watching that fight a handful of times. Cruz is an amazingly effective fighter, one who should give Johnson loads of trouble.



QUICK FACTS:

Dominick Cruz
• 26 years old
• 5’8, 135
• 68-inch reach
• 18-1 overall (8-1 UFC/WEC)
• 5-0 in last 5
• 9-1 in last 10
• Currently riding a 9-fight winning streak
• Lone professional loss by submission
• Fight of the Night twice
• Current layoff is 91 days
• Longest layoff of career is 364 days

Demetrious Johnson
• 25 years old
• 5’3, 135
• 66-inch reach
• 14-1 overall (4-1 UFC/WEC)
• 4-1 in last 5
• 9-1 in last 10
• Currently riding a 4-fight winning streak
• Lone professional loss by decision
• Current layoff is 126 days
• Longest layoff of career is 203 days

Thomas Gerbasi: Cruz Ready for His First Act as UFC Bantam King

"When I first fought him, I thought I could beat him and I wanted to beat him. It didn’t go that way, but I’m getting my shot at redemption and I’m definitely excited for it, without a doubt.” - Dominick Cruz

 

As legend has it, this whole Dominick Cruz-Urijah Faber rivalry – one which will be settled in the UFC 132 main event this Saturday in Las Vegas - didn’t begin on March 24, 2007, the night Faber defended his WEC featherweight crown with a 98 second submission win. It actually started earlier that week, when Cruz famously inked his signature over Faber’s face on the event’s fight poster.

Since then, Faber continued to see his star rise in the WEC before losing his title, dropping to bantamweight, and moving back to the top in the UFC. Cruz dropped to 135 pounds himself, became a WEC star and won the organization’s bantamweight title before finishing out his tenure there by winning the UFC’s first 135-pound belt last December.

That’s a lot of water under the bridge in four years, but neither fighter’s feelings for the other have diminished. So, Dominick Cruz, UFC bantamweight champion, before you get your shot at redemption against Faber, will you sign your name over Faber’s face again, just for old times’ sake?

“They actually made a rule that you’re not allowed to anymore,” he laughs. “They tell you that before you sign the posters now. I attribute that rule to myself and I think that’s where it comes from, so I won’t sign over his face. I don’t hate the dude, I just think he’s a p***k, that’s all. I don’t wish him death, I don’t wish him ill will, I just want to beat him and prove that I’m better, plain and simple.”

And while the storyline of Cruz looking to avenge the lone loss of his 17-1 career and trying to put to rest the specter of “The California Kid” over his head is a great one, it’s also accurate, as he admits that for four years, he’s pondered that defeat and the man who gave it to him.

“It’s something that’s sat with me for sure,” said Cruz, who is unbeaten at bantamweight. “I’ve been thinking about this fight for four years. When I first fought him, I thought I could beat him and I wanted to beat him. It didn’t go that way, but I’m getting my shot at redemption and I’m definitely excited for it, without a doubt.”

What makes it even better is that he will do it in front of the world as the main event in perhaps the biggest event of the summer. Now that’s the way to make an entrance.

“I never expect anything, but I was really hoping for this,” he said of his first UFC bout. “I was either hoping that we would be a main event or we would be coaches on the TUF show, and we got the main event, so I’m a happy man.”

With such a lofty spot on the card comes great responsibility though, and Cruz and Faber have been put through the media wringer in the weeks leading up to the bout. You won’t hear any complaints from “The Dominator” though; he’s just taking it all in, saying simply “I accept the challenge and I love it.”

Maybe it’s because this is his coming out party on the world stage. Sure, he got plenty of exposure in his WEC bouts, three of which had a championship on the line, but this is the UFC, so things are amped up considerably, and he’s facing Faber, the undisputed king of the lighter weight classes for years, and perhaps still the sub 145-pound divisions’ most recognizable fighter. So now it’s Cruz’ chance to introduce himself to the masses, and when those masses see him, they will likely be captivated immediately by his unorthodox but brilliantly effective standup style and footwork.

“It’s definitely something that’s been developed over the years,” said the 26-year old from San Diego. “If anybody goes back through the years and watches me fight against Charlie Valencia, which was my first bantamweight fight after my loss against Urijah, they can see the development from that fight up until now in my fighting style and it’s definitely changed over the years. I focus very much on improving every single fight and trying to come out looking like a different fighter in every single fight. And that’s exactly what’s stumping people, that I never look exactly the same for any fight.”

3-0 at 135 pounds when he upset Faber’s teammate Joseph Benavidez in 2009, Cruz burst onto the world radar in 2010 with a second round stoppage of Brian Bowles for the WEC title, and five round decision wins over Benavidez in their rematch, and Scott Jorgensen. The latter two fights were huge for Cruz, and not just because he defended his title, but because he proved that he had what it took to go five hard rounds. Faber, a championship fight veteran, has gone the route three times, but in an important stat, he lost two of those bouts (to Mike Brown and Jose Aldo).

“I know I can do it (go five rounds), and I know I can do it a very fast and almost unmatched pace,” said Cruz. “I feel that’s a big reason why this fight is gonna be mine because before my first fight with him I didn’t have the experience factor of that or even the big show fights at all. Now I’ve been in several big show fights, I’ve been the main event several times, and I’ve gone through five round wars several times. I know how to do it and I know how to stay composed through it all and I think that’s gonna be a huge difference in the fight.”

But what really makes this fight intriguing is that there are no cracks in either man’s foundation when it comes to confidence. Look at any of their fights and you’ll see it. In Cruz’ case, his confidence comes from his work with Team Alliance in San Diego. Just don’t call him cocky.

“What gives me the confidence is knowing what I go through in my training camp,” he explains. “My training camps are so, so difficult, and I know with every ounce of my heart that everybody that I’m fighting hasn’t trained harder than me. They might be training just as hard, but there’s no way they’re training harder than me, and that gives me a lot of confidence. And the fact that I know I can’t get tired in five rounds of fighting gives me even more confidence, because in my opinion, if I don’t get tired, I can’t get beaten. It has nothing to do with being cocky. I know the skill set of the opponent that I’m fighting, I know what they bring to the table, but the things that I do in camp prepares me for every skill set and everything that they have to show me. And I’m confident in that, and definitely far from cocky.”

When pressed, he’ll even give Faber his props. He knows that Saturday night won’t be easy, but is anything worth fighting for and getting ever easy? Not for Dominick Cruz.

“Somebody who’s had as many fights as him (Faber), you know he’s a threat,” said the champion. “He’s in the upper echelon of the weight class, and the things that he’s done over the years in MMA gives him the right to get a title shot. And the bottom line is that I’m excited to fight somebody that is in the top of the weight class because I want to fight the best guys in the world. And on top of that I get to kill two birds with one stone and beat the guy that gave me my only loss. There are a lot of people who could only pray for the situation that I’m in. I’m excited to go out there and prove what I can do.”

Dominick Cruz UFC 132 Video Blog (Part 1)

Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz, who will make his first UFC title defense against Urijah Faber in Saturday's headlining bout, talks about his road to MMA stardom and gives an inside look into his training and preparation for the match-up. Cruz recounts some of his earliest professional fights, as well as how he and head coach Eric Del Fiero eventually came together.

"My Time to Shine"-Dominick Cruz blog

Dominick Cruz is itching to show UFC fans what 135ers are all about... and to silence Urijah Faber.

There are seven UFC world champions:
Cain Velazquez at heavyweight, Jon Jones at light heavyweight, Anderson Silva at middleweight, Georges St-Pierre at welterweight, Frankie Edgar at lightweight, Jose Aldo at featherweight and then me -- Dominick Cruz -- at the 135-pound bantamweight class.
If I am totally honest, I'm probably the least well-known of the seven champions right now.
Part of that is because my fight on July 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is actually the first bantamweight title fight in UFC history. I was the champion of the WEC league, which was absorbed into the UFC recently, and my WEC title became the UFC title. So there's pressure on me the show UFC fans what the 135-pound division is all about.

RELATED

• UFC 132 fight card
• Previous Ultimate Blogger: Stout

But there are other reasons I'm not as well-known as some of the other UFC title-holders... I feel I've been under-promoted on the PR side of things.
Now, don't get me wrong, a big part of that is my fault. I used to be one of those fighters who thought that all being a fighter -- or a champion -- involved was training hard and winning in the cage. I didn't appreciate that I wasn't just a champion for the 25 minutes or less I was actually defending my belt, but that being a world champion is a 24-7 job and involved a lot of time and effort outside of the gym.
I didn't understand that fans were interested in talking to you on social media and reading about you in interviews; maybe I was naive but I figure they just wanted to see you fight, say thanks for the support, and leave so they could watch the next fight.
I get it now. I'm on Facebook and Twitter and I'm really glad I am. There are some great fans out there and social media and things like this blog are really cool, the way you get to talk directly to fans and let them know what you are up to. I'm trying to play catch-up on marketing myself but, ultimately, I still want fans to judge me on my performances in the Octagon.
When my career is over I want fans to remember me as the guy who made it from the bottom to the top off nothing but pure hard work, heart and focus.
On July 2, I have the chance to really make people sit up and take notice. I'm main eventing UFC 132, a huge PPV with legends like Wanderlei Silva and Tito Ortiz on the card, in the biggest bantamweight fight in the sport's history.
The fight is not only the biggest in terms of being the first bantamweight title fight in UFC history, but also the most important fight of my life because of who I am fighting. Uriah Faber, my challenger, is the only guy to beat me in my 18-fight career. He beat me when I challenged him back when he was WEC featherweight champ.
Just like I feel I have been under-promoted, Faber has been over-promoted. He was the darling, the actual poster boy, of the WEC. But just like it was partly my fault I wasn't pushed that hard, Faber is a master of self-promotion and he worked hard at marketing himself.
He was all over Twitter and Facebook long, long before the UFC starting pushing fighters to embrace social media. Great for him; he got it before I did and that's my fault.
What does piss me off -- even to this day -- is just how much Faber was the favourite in the WEC. When I fought Faber for the featherweight title four years ago, I wasn't even on the poster. To me, that's just plain disrespectful.
Fighting for a world title is something even very good fighters never get the chance to do, it is something your entire family, your friends and your gym are proud of. For the entire poster to be of Urijah -- as if he was fighting himself or something -- was just completely disrespectful but it tells you all you need to know about how he was the golden boy, the "face of the WEC."
When I was asked to autograph the poster, I did it all over his face. It was my own way of making the poster. Faber didn't like it and people still talk about it to this day. But even if all this hadn't have happened, I'd still dislike Urijah Faber.
In life, you just come across people you just don't like. You've probably got someone at your work or a friend of a friend who you just can't get along with for some reason. Faber and I are like that.
Uriah Faber can be remembered as the "face of the WEC." That's fine, that's cool. But what he won't be remembered for is being the UFC bantamweight champion.
Faber has wanted to be a UFC champion literally since he was a kid. It's going to be a great night -- making history in the UFC and avenging my only loss against someone I've no time for all in one fight.

Hit me up on Twitter at @TheDomin8r and Facebook me.

Dominick Cruz will defend his bantamweight belt against Urijah Faber at UFC 132 on Saturday, July 2 in Las Vegas. He will blog this week and next for sportsnet.ca ahead of his fight.
UFC 132 will be shown live on pay-per-view at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET. Watch t live preliminary fights on Sportsnet starting at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.