Cruz vs. Barao

This is the official discussion thread for Cruz vs. Barao. Let's see what you've got.

Oblig:

* Edited at 11.17.2013, 2:09 PM ET *

Don't like Cruz's attitude and don't want him to win, but I find he is just too good on the feet to lose this fight.

Will be interesting to see if the long layoff has any impact.

You know what's ****** up? I'm actually considering picking Cruz. I think he has the movement and the striking to atleast compete with Barao. The person who did the best against Barao is probably McDonald and he has a much more in your face style. Cruz is extremely technical with his strikes and very awkward with his movement. It's all about how much this layoff will effect Cruz.

Cruz is very based on mobility, and comming off a bad knee injury, if he takes any number of baraos leg kicks he wont be able to use his normal style of boxing to a decision- because he wont have his movment in the later rounds.

Beginning to get the feeling Cruz wins this one. I think Dana is right about Cruz having been training hard for quite a few months before announcing his return. He milked it because he wanted to make sure he was on-point for a Barao fight come right back. 

We shall see. 

I love that this is the main event over Aldo vs. Lamas even though it's a smaller weight class.

They're billing this as Champ vs. Champ, and I like that. Regardless, I think Aldo/Lamas will get moved to UFC 170 since Jones/Glover isn't on it anymore.

there´s no doubt Cruz will be 100% when he returns. He´s the kind of guy that would rather be out of comission longer rather than risk not being the best prepared possible. Even so, I think Barao can beat him. 

* Edited at 11.18.2013, 4:06 PM ET *

No doubt in my mind...Cruz will be 100% until Barao kicks him in his bum knee.

100% after 2 years off holds a completely different meaning though.

My most anticipated fight of all-time. I'm excited to finally watch my favorite fighter once again.

im pretty excited for this fight too ....







it's gonna be great watching Cruz get ****** up :)

If this had happened 2 years ago I would have picked Cruz no doubt. As long as he comes back the same fighter though he takes this. His boxing and movement is too much for Barao. Wineland was winning til he got caught, and Cruz has much better movement, speed, and activity then him.

The key question going into this fight is what everyone's saying: will Dominick Cruz be the same fighter that he once was?

Tearing your MCL/ACL/PCL (or whatever the ****) twice in two years would drastically change any fighter, let alone a fighter like Dominick Cruz who solely relies on movement to win.

If Cruz is the same fighter he always was, Barao has no chance. He doesn't have the speed to touch Cruz and he doesn't have the wrestling to scare Cruz. The problem with fighting Dominick Cruz is that the key to beating him is solely based off of timing, and it's extremely hard to rely on perfect timing against a guy with a style as unorthodox as his.

Dominick Cruz often switches stances before he throws a combination, the key is to catch him when he switches right before because that is the one split second where he is open to hit. Cruz's supreme head movement, excellent chin and seemingly perfect ability to mix strikes with takedowns and judo throws is just way too much to deal with, especially when you're facing his style for the first time.

However, if Cruz is significantly slower because of the injuries, Barao will have his way with him. It would be the equivalent of fighting a sightly faster Tim Elliot (who in opinion is the fighter that resembles closest to Cruz in style).

I've never been a fan of Cruz's style, but his fights are never really close, and his style could prevent any serious damage done by Barao, so Cruz for the upset.

@Anik I have to disagree on a couple points.

First, Barao has a chance even if Cruz is the same fighter he once was. I'll grant you that if Cruz comes back as good as ever, Barao should be considered a moderate underdog, but I don't buy that he has no chance. Nobody with the kind of leg kicks Barao possesses has fought Cruz. If Barao can land some of those leg kicks early (much easier said than done on a guy with as much crazy fast lateral movement as Cruz tends to use) then Cruz could have some major problems avoiding Barao's power shots, which could change the course of the fight very quickly. If Barao knocks down Cruz, I also see Barao as someone quick enough to use the opportunity, maybe not necessarily finish, but I can definitely see Barao actually keeping Cruz on his back for a little bit. Faber got the knock down, but he was incapable of capitalizing due to his speed disadvantage, a disadvantage that I do not believe is as great for Barao; the gap in speed is narrower.

Second, and this is super minor, but Cruz really isn't that much like Elliott. I mean, I can't really compare Cruz to ANYONE because he is so unique in his use of lateral movement. Elliott is a flat footed fighter that wings his punches, but he's not really all that great at avoiding other people's punches, nor does he cut the cage off effectively with his lateral movement. I like the guy, I just don't really see the comparison of style with Cruz.

Overall, I'd say the general sentiment is obviously that the fight hinges on whether or not Cruz can truly come back from a 28 month layoff and 2 torn ACLs that required surgery.

@zarog I do understand that Barao possesses excellent leg kicks that can render so many immovable. The problem with Barao is that his boxing is actually surprisingly mediocre and against a boxer like Dominick Cruz, he is going to have major problems doing anything with his hands, really. Cruz's movement will make his leg strikes so much harder to land.

If you're talking about the first round of their second fight, that was in no way shape or form a knockdown. Cruz tripped up after a Faber punch but that was more because he was off balance than he was hurt, that's kinda why he resumed fighting literally instantly.

You see, a lot of people don't understand that comparison, and that is fair. One of the reasons why I say that Eliot is the closest thing to Cruz is because I'm emphasizing just how unique Cruz is in the history of fighting period.

But don't get me wrong, it's not some crazy comparison; in terms of offense Eliot is the closest fighter I have seen to Cruz. Eliot actually does possess similarities to Cruz that I've never seen other fighters have. He switches stances a fair amount, he has his hands always at his hips, he directly faces his opponents and he takes certain angles for strikes that I've only seen Cruz use. His winging punches actually make him that much more similar to Cruz, because Cruz is almost exclusively limited to swinging and looping punches.

The reason for Eliot's lack of success is because he employs an extremely risky style without having a safety net to protect him. Cruz gets away with his frighteningly risky style because of his ability to move out of the away not only through his body movement but his head movement as well.

Barao lost the first round against Wineland which worries me, but I'm sure as hell not picking Cruz.

Do you even lift bro.

In a nutshell, what Fresno said. Also, hey Fresno hahahahaha Koscheck lost homie, told your ass.