Dominick Cruz is now all set and ready to defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight (135lb) title against Cody “No Love” Garbrandt inUFC 207’s co-main event… Save the date! It’s on Dec. 30, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While the actual booking of the bout may have left a bitter taste on other contender’s tongues — We’re talking to you T.J. Dillashaw… It’s still a showdown that fans are eagerly awaiting due to the growing rivalry and tension. As is Cruz himself, as he says though “No Love” may not be a top-five ranked opponent, he talked his way into the title fight and he’s determined to make him regret it.
“We’re in the fight business and this is a fight, plain and simple. He isn’t in the top five of the division, and it’s my job to go out there and prove it,” said Dominick Cruz on a recent edition of The MMA Hour.
“He did talk himself into this fight, 100 percent. It’s my job to go out there and fight him. I want to fight him, I want to fight this man because it sparks interests and there is a beef there. This guy has been running his mouth a lot. So it’s my job to go out there and shut it for him and show him why he is nowhere near the level he thinks he is,” added Cruz.
“Yes, he’s got knockouts on his record in the first round, but so did Shane Carwin and we all saw what happened to him when he went out there past the first round, didn’t we?”
“And that’s what this game is. This game is one where you have to be able to mix it up, not just one round and show how dominant you can be with your power, but you have to have more than power. You have to have power, ring generalship, know how to mix things up and how to win in the clinch, takedowns, over-unders; you have to understand how to get off your back without threatening yourself,” he said.
“You have to understand how to keep it after you earn it. And with a style that’s only proven to be able to go two, three rounds, that’s a tough style to deal with against somebody like me and that is what this matchup is about,” concluded Cruz.