Bang: TJ wins va KO in round 2
Bang: “So I don’t see [Dominick Cruz] as too much of a threat. We do have to respect him, but I feel T.J. Dillashaw is going to finish him in the second round.”
Duane “Bang” Ludwig, coach for UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw, made a very specific fight prediction during a recent appearance on the Anik and Florian podcast. Dillashaw and former division champion Dominick Cruz fight on Saturday, and the coach says the champ wins it, inside of two.
“(Cruz) just moves and doesn’t get hit, which is nice,” said Ludwig of Cruz, as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMAFighting.com. “He gets guys out of position so they can’t really follow up. But that’s just because people aren’t bringing their feet with them while they strike, something T.J. is very good at. So I don’t see [Cruz] as too much of a threat. We do have to respect him, but I feel T.J. is going to finish him in the second round.”
“Our system incorporates a lot of motion. T.J. has been very successfully against people who move, like Cruz. Now, has Cruz faced people who have moved? The only person is Demetrious Johnson, who I thought won that fight in the striking, just lost on the takedowns and control on the ground.”
“Obviously, fighting for the title and defending the title are always the biggest fights one can have in their career. I don’t feel [Cruz] is as much of a threat as Renan Barao was. It’s still a huge fight, obviously. I have a ton of respect for Cruz. He never lost the belt. He’s back to the top now after some injuries. I respect his commitment to the sport in his career.”
T.J. Dillashaw fights Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81 (also known as UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz) on January 17, 2016, at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
There is a new style of striking in mixed martial arts. called Neo footwork by some, that eroding the Dutch kickboxing method that predominates. It involves, among other things, much more footwork, and far less reliance on striking from an orthodox stance. Credit it largely given to Dominick Cruz for inventing it. Dillashaw saw to emulate it, so he could be an effective sparring partner for then coach Urijah Faber, when Faber fought then champion Cruz. The style was so effective, Dillashaw stuck with it, and refined it.
Saturday will be an extraordinary test of who has refined most the most refined stiking style in mixed martial arts.
