FanPost

The Men Who Can Beat Dominick Cruz

 Regarding my abscence:

First off, let me say this: during a rather intense debate about Overeem, I bet SDChief that I would leave the site if Overeem won the GP. Well, fuck a duck, he did.

However, I am both too much of a hypocrite and too fond of this site to leave. In fairness, however, I will abstain from the main discussion and stick to fanposts and fanshots. Lots of Asian/European talent I need to shove down you guys' throats (War Yasubey Enomoto). The next matchup in True Fantasy MMA will be up soon; finals took up most of my time.


Note: I'm not some blind JMMA fanboy. I know these two haven't exactly faced/beaten world-class opposition recently. I'm going by what they have historically proven able to do in the ring and cage. In addition, I'm not saying they WOULD beat Cruz. I'm merely saying that they have the talents necessary to do it.

Aside from teaching me that the laws of physics can occasionally be ignored, Thursday night showed me one of the most bizarre striking styles I'd ever seen. I hadn't seen much of Cruz, but he's the first guy I think I've seen who I legitimately can't follow with my eyes. Strikes came out of nowhere; I couldn't figure out how his fists had covered the distance between hips and face. Not only that, he took down Jorgenson like it was nothing. Some of those shots were from so far off that they seemed like Toney could have sprawled on them but Scott still went down.

I've been racking my brain to find some strategy to beat him, and in the end, I could only come up with two 135-pounders capable of stopping him.

via www.pridefc.com


Yes, I know he's not in the UFC. Yes, I know his next fight is against someone who's 0-1. Yes, I know his impromptu knee operation to MTB was years ago.

I also know that NOBODY can shoot directly into a leglock like Imanari. Considering the wrestling prowess Cruz has demonstrated, the idea of getting a submission by conventional means seems like a pipedream.

Cruz's feet are always in motion; I don't consider it too outlandish a notion that the Ashikan Judan could take him off his feet and right into a heel hook during one of The Dominator's Drunken Master lunges.

 

While seeing the man who makes Aoki his bitch (not posting that image) tear Cruz's leg in half might please those who are sick of Cruz's decision streak, the odds of a fight between them are somewhere between "like Hell" and "fuck no". The man who I think has the best shot at dethroning the 135-pound kingpin is...

via www.kimura.se


Losses to Masato, Zambo, The Baddest Man on the Planet, and Kanehara notwithstanding, KID has what may be the perfect weapon to bring down Dominick; a "Cruz Missile" if you will.

 

That counter right hand is absolutely deadly. He's dropped several opponents with it, including Rani Yahya and, more recently, Kiko Lopez. I don't know about KID's chin anymore (dropped by Kanehara, knocked out by Zambo and Cheon, though Zambo is bigger and hits like a B-52), but I don't believe I'd be wrong in saying that he has the greatest punching power at 135 and the handspeed to deliver it. I can picture Cruz accidentally attacking in too straight a line and eating one of those big shots; KID's also got great wrestling (for all the good that did Scott...), which is another point in his favor.

Like I said above, I'm not saying these guys would definitely beat Dominick; I just consider them the most capable of doing so at the moment.

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