Cruz ready for take his UFC belt back

In fact, Cruz hasn’t been able to fight since September of 2014, and has fought only three times since 2011.

Before UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw (13-2) takes on ex-champ and No. 1 contender Dominick Cruz (20-1) in the main event, and former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis (No. 1 ranked, 18-3) takes on ex-Bellator MMA title holder Eddie Alvarez (No. 4 ranked, 26-4) in the co-main event, the four shared their thoughts on a wide range of topics leading up to Saturday’s UFC on FOX card at the TD Center in Boston …

Don’t be surprised if, in some ways, they look like mirror images of each other. The doors will swing open at 5 p.m., the fights begin an hour later, and the Dillashaw-Cruz title match is scheduled to start at 10 p.m.

Faber, 36, said fighting Dillashaw to help welcome Golden 1 Center would be epic. “Justin will be out there to hopefully calm the nerves of Duane Ludwig, who’s a nervous mess in the corner”. He was my coach at [Team] Alpha Male. He’s still one of them.

And Cruz’s opponent, who stunned Renan Barao to win the title in 2014, has had his fair share of upheaval.

The man behind the transformation was Ludwig.

“I don’t have as much emotion going into it because I feel at peace with myself”, he said. “I was asking for this fight back in April, but he got hurt again, unfortunately, and now I’ve got the chance to do it”.

The result has been a split between mentor and protégé. I’d have to say that if he’s 100% healthy Cruz will still remain the more elusive and unpredictable with his strikes – even now nobody fights exactly like he does – but Dillashaw isn’t trying to be a mimic, he’s incorporated elements to compliment his own striking game which is more unsafe offensively than Cruz’s ever was and so I firmly believe he’s the most formidable opponent the former champion has ever faced. In this case, he’s not fighting someone with many knockouts on his card. Don’t miss Dillashaw vs Cruz at Fight Night Boston on January 17 on Fox Sports 1. That being said, whenever it is completely necessary, Dillashaw will shoot for a takedown off of one his feints. He said that Sylvester Stallone contacted him after the win over Saenz.

In some unfortunate news for Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 81 event, 27-year-old Mairbek Taisumov will be unable to compete on the card after he was unable to secure a work visa to enter the U.S. “My boy Stallone actually left a message and gave a little Rocky Balboa shout out there”. I love Tai foods too.

The narrative for the fight itself couldn’t have been written any better; a returning champion, eager to reclaim the throne that he was forced to vacate against the current champion who is desperately seeking the legitimacy that defeating the challenger – thereby relegating him to a footnote in history – would espouse. Ever. So I don’t take it for granted. When you take a striker and smother them, it limits their weapons. I have all the respect in the world for Eddie and I’ve learned the hard way that the only fight that matters is the one you’re facing. I’ve been released from the friendship. After that loss though, he went on a tear winning five of six fights, three of them within the distance. Cruz is a dope.

For the articulate Cruz, witnessing Conor McGregor’s rise come as much from his mouth as his fists, it likely makes sense to raise the decibel level because it makes dollars. Cruz on the other hand typically blends his shots with his head movement so it seems like one fluid motion.

This time, he was between UFC bantamweight champion T.J.

He insists there is no feud between he and Faber, pointing out that several of his Team Alpha Male teammates, including Joseph Benavidez, Lance Palmer and Justin Buccholz, have been with him.

amNewYork spoke with Dillashaw about his upcoming bout against Cruz, as well as his public falling out with former teammate Urijah Faber.

I love Alvarez but I don’t see him getting the job done.