Dominick Cruz: TJ Has My Belt, It’s Me vs Team Alpha Fail
Dominick Cruz next fight against TJ Dillashaw will be a huge night….
Former WEC & UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz returned with great success at UFC 178; after three years out of action, “The Dominator” smashed Takeya Mizugaki with the first round TKO in Las Vegas, Nevada. After being hit with a litany of leg and groin injuries, Cruz’s comeback was pretty much perfect for him.
Talking to MMAJunkie Radio today, the former kingpin at 135 pounds discussed how it felt to return after such a time off:
“I made a lot of changes, I learned a lot through my camp for Barao. I was trying to heal up before the fight, and then it re-tore really bad. I don’t think cage rust exists, as long as you do a lot of training from top guys. Ring rust comes from nerves mostly, it’s the shows, the media the lights. It’s just basic if you can deal with that. Ring rust should be written off.”
“I didn’t know what my body was gonna do, so I was still questioning what my nerves were gonna do to me, but surprisingly I felt at peace. My weight cut was smooth, and I became a better fighter in my time off. I realized that I improved over this period of time, it hasn’t been easy. I’ve done a lot of weird training while injured.”
After such a momentous win at UFC 178, Cruz was instantly granted a shot at the champion TJ Dillashaw. “The Viper” had won the belt from Renan Barao in quite an upset at UFC 173, and would have rematched “Baron” at UFC 177, until the former champion feinted backstage. When asked about the proposed rematch at UFC 177, Cruz said the following:
“My goal was to take the step closer to the title that I never lost. Mizugaki is a stud, and he is hard to stop. This was a guy that I wanted stop. I think that Dillashaw would win (the rematch with Barao). He feints a lot, and it’s tough when you are a counter striker like Barao. Styles make fights, and Dillashaw has more ways to win because of the wrestling against Barao”
Lastly, “The Dominator” addresses his comments after the fact at UFC 178. Cruz called out ‘Team Alpha Fail”, and quickly caught the attention of Dillashaw with his call-out:
“The ‘Team Alpha Fail’ comments, it was just it goes back a long time. I’m fighting these guys, I’ll fight all of them. It’s not a personal thing, but he has my belt. He thinks it’s his and it’s not. I never lost that belt. So it’s me vs Team Alpha Fail.”
I have to say that the return of Dominick Cruz has been epic so far, and he is only one fight in. Now as we await his title shot against the surging TJ Dillashaw, Cruz sounds confident, if not hungrier than ever. Can “The Dominator” make history in the bantamweight division by becoming the first two-time champion, or will Dillashaw stop him in his tracks?
