I don’t know about the rest of you, but I couldn’t have cared less about the Ronda Rousey fight at UFC 207, other than hoping that Nunes dispatched of her quickly so that I would never have to see her mean mugging face in a main event ever again.
The fight that I really looked forward to on that card was the Dominick Cruz-Cody “No Love” Garbrandt fight. I was certain that Cruz was gonna make that hotheaded young punk look absolutely ridiculous. I’ll admit that I’m totally biased when it comes to Dominick Cruz as he has been my favorite fighter for about seven or eight years now. I have always loved the way he moves, switches stance, and absolutely frustrates some of those meathead fighters out there.
Many fighters in the sport of MMA have a “Hulk Smash” type of attitude when it comes to fights. I love to watch fighters that are thinkers and have styles that are different than the typical style of the stronger guy overpowering the weaker guy or the harder puncher knocking out the less skilled striker.
So as you can imagine, I was quite surprised with the composure, footwork, and elusiveness of “No Love”. Where I expected a hotheaded “No Love” to have a seek and destroy mentality, I saw a fighter that was controlled and disciplined. The way he was patient and forced Cruz to become the aggressor was impressive to say the least.
It really got me thinking that maybe instead of Cruz getting into Cody’s head, Cody may have set Cruz up into thinking he had him rattled and angry when Cody was composed the whole time. He was definitely not a hotheaded young punk once those cage doors shut. He had a coolness and confidence of a master craftsman inside the cage that night.
What’s next?
Even though I was disappointed at the loss of my favorite fighter Dom, I definitely was not upset about the fight. I really got excited about what’s next with Cody “No Love”?
Really, the only fight that makes sense is “No Love” vs TJ Dillashaw. Here you have two young guns that are at the top of their game. Then add the bad blood with Dillashaw leaving team Alpha Male. Is there any fight on the table right now that could possibly be more exciting? I can’t think of any.
I’ll admit that before this fight with Cruz, I didn’t pay all that much attention to Cody “No Love”, because in reality, he hadn’t faced any of the killers that Cruz or even Dillashaw has faced. Dominick has faced all the Team Alpha Male studs and won. Dillashaw had a couple of huge showdowns with Renan Barao, plus add the Lineker fight at UFC 207. So think about it, Cody obviously hasn’t faced his Alpha Male teammates, he hasn’t faced Renan Barao, and he hasn’t faced John Lineker. Other than those names, there are no other real threats in the bantamweight division. Yes, I know he defeated a low level gate-keeper in Mizugaki, and a young up-and-comer in Thomas Almeida, but so what? Those are just fights where you start to prove that you can be a contender, but with the dominant victory over Dom, he proved without a doubt that he belongs at the top.
Now lets talk about Dillashaw. OMG! Did you see the clinic that he put on John Lineker? I don’t care what you say. John Lineker is a scary dude! That was proven by the way that he absorbed all of Dillashaw’s punches, elbows, submission attempts, etc. That dude is indestructible, and Dillashaw made him look amateurish with his footwork, striking and takedowns. Any normal fighter that took that kind of beating would have been finished early in that fight.
Truly, I have not seen a better matchup for a UFC fight like this in a long time! Yes, I know that Dom edged out TJ in their matchup, but that was a stylistic matchup that favored Dom at the time. But this matchup of TJ Dillashaw and Cody “No Love” Garbrandt is a stylistic dream of a matchup. Yes, TJ has a fighting style somewhat similar to Dom but TJ is also younger, faster, and still evolving this new style of his (plus Dominick Cruz has had two or three ACL surgeries). Then you have to consider the familiarity of the fighters from years of training together. Now with Cody “No Love”, you look at his composure, elusiveness and the dynamite of his punches.
This has got to be one of the most evenly matched, truly exciting fights on the UFC horizon in a long time. Yes, I know Conor is the big money guy in the UFC , and I am a huge fan of the guy myself, but this fight between Cody and Dillashaw is gonna have everything any fan of MMA ,whether die hard or casual, is looking for. There’s gonna be trash talk! There’s gonna be press conference scuffles! There’s gonna be social media blasts, and then add a true dislike for each other. What more can you ask for in a championship bout?
I don’t know about you, but this is THE fight I am most excited about in the year to come.
The fight that I really looked forward to on that card was the Dominick Cruz-Cody “No Love” Garbrandt fight. I was certain that Cruz was gonna make that hotheaded young punk look absolutely ridiculous. I’ll admit that I’m totally biased when it comes to Dominick Cruz as he has been my favorite fighter for about seven or eight years now. I have always loved the way he moves, switches stance, and absolutely frustrates some of those meathead fighters out there.
Many fighters in the sport of MMA have a “Hulk Smash” type of attitude when it comes to fights. I love to watch fighters that are thinkers and have styles that are different than the typical style of the stronger guy overpowering the weaker guy or the harder puncher knocking out the less skilled striker.
So as you can imagine, I was quite surprised with the composure, footwork, and elusiveness of “No Love”. Where I expected a hotheaded “No Love” to have a seek and destroy mentality, I saw a fighter that was controlled and disciplined. The way he was patient and forced Cruz to become the aggressor was impressive to say the least.
It really got me thinking that maybe instead of Cruz getting into Cody’s head, Cody may have set Cruz up into thinking he had him rattled and angry when Cody was composed the whole time. He was definitely not a hotheaded young punk once those cage doors shut. He had a coolness and confidence of a master craftsman inside the cage that night.
What’s next?
Even though I was disappointed at the loss of my favorite fighter Dom, I definitely was not upset about the fight. I really got excited about what’s next with Cody “No Love”?
Really, the only fight that makes sense is “No Love” vs TJ Dillashaw. Here you have two young guns that are at the top of their game. Then add the bad blood with Dillashaw leaving team Alpha Male. Is there any fight on the table right now that could possibly be more exciting? I can’t think of any.
I’ll admit that before this fight with Cruz, I didn’t pay all that much attention to Cody “No Love”, because in reality, he hadn’t faced any of the killers that Cruz or even Dillashaw has faced. Dominick has faced all the Team Alpha Male studs and won. Dillashaw had a couple of huge showdowns with Renan Barao, plus add the Lineker fight at UFC 207. So think about it, Cody obviously hasn’t faced his Alpha Male teammates, he hasn’t faced Renan Barao, and he hasn’t faced John Lineker. Other than those names, there are no other real threats in the bantamweight division. Yes, I know he defeated a low level gate-keeper in Mizugaki, and a young up-and-comer in Thomas Almeida, but so what? Those are just fights where you start to prove that you can be a contender, but with the dominant victory over Dom, he proved without a doubt that he belongs at the top.
Now lets talk about Dillashaw. OMG! Did you see the clinic that he put on John Lineker? I don’t care what you say. John Lineker is a scary dude! That was proven by the way that he absorbed all of Dillashaw’s punches, elbows, submission attempts, etc. That dude is indestructible, and Dillashaw made him look amateurish with his footwork, striking and takedowns. Any normal fighter that took that kind of beating would have been finished early in that fight.
Truly, I have not seen a better matchup for a UFC fight like this in a long time! Yes, I know that Dom edged out TJ in their matchup, but that was a stylistic matchup that favored Dom at the time. But this matchup of TJ Dillashaw and Cody “No Love” Garbrandt is a stylistic dream of a matchup. Yes, TJ has a fighting style somewhat similar to Dom but TJ is also younger, faster, and still evolving this new style of his (plus Dominick Cruz has had two or three ACL surgeries). Then you have to consider the familiarity of the fighters from years of training together. Now with Cody “No Love”, you look at his composure, elusiveness and the dynamite of his punches.
This has got to be one of the most evenly matched, truly exciting fights on the UFC horizon in a long time. Yes, I know Conor is the big money guy in the UFC , and I am a huge fan of the guy myself, but this fight between Cody and Dillashaw is gonna have everything any fan of MMA ,whether die hard or casual, is looking for. There’s gonna be trash talk! There’s gonna be press conference scuffles! There’s gonna be social media blasts, and then add a true dislike for each other. What more can you ask for in a championship bout?
I don’t know about you, but this is THE fight I am most excited about in the year to come.