"He was throwing everything behind everything that he had" - Josh Thomson explains why Dominick Cruz's speed against Marlon Vera could be the reason behind his loss
Dominick Cruz was looking good against Marlon Vera in the main event of Saturday's UFC San Diego right up until Vera knocked him out cold with a massive head kick. Josh Thomson believes that only happened because Cruz slowed down as the fight progressed.
All three judges had Cruz winning the first two rounds against Vera, with "Chito" taking round three. Halfway through round four, Cruz ducked right into a kick that shattered his nose and left him unconscious on the canvas.
In the latest episode of Weighing In, Thomson broke down what went wrong.
"It was very evident that [Cruz] was the faster fighter. But if you go back and look at the first round and second round, he was the faster fighter because he was throwing everything behind everything that he had. Everything he threw was as hard as he possibly could and as fast as he possibly could do it. That is a recipe for someone to slow down later in the fight and that's exactly what happened."
you can see Cruz’s nose being broke on the kick. WILD https://t.co/qJ2AXLzRGQ
"I use him all the time in comparison to Roy Jones Jr., I did it on the last show and you all called me crazy. Roy Jones, as he got older, he slowed down as the fight went on and that opens up for your ability to get caught. That's exactly what happened in this fight."
Watch Josh Thomson discuss Dominick Cruz's loss to Marlon Vera below:
Marlon Vera called Dominick Cruz's fighting style "very low-level"
For years, Dominick Cruz frustrated and out-pointed his opponents using a unique blend of footwork and elusiveness. It's a style that made him a two-time bantamweight champion, but according to Marlon Vera, it's not very high level.
Following his KO win over Cruz, "Chito" sat down at the UFC San Diego post-fight press conference and said:
“Honestly, me and my team, we really think the way he fights is kind of very low-level. There’s no base, there’s no good stance. All that movement side-to-side like I’m like, we told each other I have to kick this guy’s ass, but by saying that you put a lot of pressure on yourself. I just believe that style is not the best style for MMA. Maybe for boxing it can work better. But for MMA you got way too many weapons going.”
Vera added that his coach sent him a picture of Cruz dipping his head to the right in past bouts, a habit that allowed "Chito" to land the kick that ended their fight. Perhaps the game has finally caught up to Dominick Cruz. Or as Josh Thomson suggests, he's slowed down just enough for his opponents to start catching him.
4. Cruz often does this exaggerated step. The first clip here is one instance from the first round to show you how the move works - he dips his weight onto his right leg then pulls his left back to follow - from southpaw Vera just stepped in a kicked his head off. https://t.co/G3eNBePhQk