Duane Ludwig: TJ Dillashaw will knockout Dominick Cruz inside two rounds

After closing out the Renan Barao chapter of his mixed martial arts (MMA) book last weekend (Sat., July 25, 2015) at UFC on FOX 16 (see it), T.J. Dillashaw has now set his sights on Dominick Cruz.

The current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion declared after his fourth-round technical knockout victory that he wants to cement his legacy as the biggest name of the division with a win over "The Dominator."

A win that will come rather quickly, according to Duane Ludwig, Dillashaw's head trainer.

During his guest spot on The MMA Hour, Duane declared that if and when the two men collide inside the Octagon, TJ won't have any trouble with Dominick, as "Bang" envisions his star pupil taking out the former champion inside two rounds.

"I want that fight to happen, 100 percent. I think he matches up well. I see TJ knocking him out within two rounds, stopping the fight within two rounds. It will be because of something that we'll train, specifically. There's things. I think differently and I know my athletes. There is another level to martial arts available now. He (Cruz) looked great against Mizugaki. He looked phenomenal, then he gets hurt again. But if the fight gets booked, we would have to have another guy on the back burner, as was the case with Aldo vs. McGregor having Chad Mendes. If they give Cruz a tune-up fight, that would be fair. But this fight needs to happen because Cruz never lost his title. He was stripped. So, you have to do what is ethically right, and that fight needs to happen anyways because it's a big fight and to make sure that it's truly undisputed. Obviously TJ is the champion now, but there is a little bit of gray area now, just because of Cruz."

So is there anything Cruz has in his skill set that will pose problems for "Viper?" Not according to Duane, as he is confident that he sees a big hole in Dominick's game that no one has yet to expose.

Of course, "Bang" kept that little nugget to himself.

"The things he does well and is successful with other guys he is not going to be able to do with TJ. That's the thing. What TJ is very good at, and I am serious, TJ can knock him out in the second round. He can even knock him out in the first round, but I see him stopping it in the second round. Once he finds the timing and accuracy of the round, in the second round he is going to take him out. It's the different things Cruz does that is going to give TJ the opening to stop it. There is something specific, very specific, and it's pretty easy. I've been seeing it for years, he's been doing the same thing for years."

Why so serious secretive?

As far as when the potential blockbuster fight will go down, that's a bit trickier, as Cruz is still recuperating from his latest injury and Ludwig would like to see TJ take some time off after training so hard for his most recent fights.

Alright then, who's calling it ... second round KO?