"Like a champion" - Dominick Cruz gives props to rival T.J. Dillashaw after his UFC Vegas 32 win over Cory Sandhagen
Dominick Cruz has given props to his longtime rival T.J. Dillashaw after Dillashaw’s UFC Vegas 32 split decision win over Cory Sandhagen.
In a video posted via his official Twitter account, Dominick Cruz briefly broke down the main event and co-main event of the UFC Vegas 32 fight card. Speaking about the main event fight – a five-round bantamweight bout between T.J. Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen – Dominick Cruz stated:
“The fights just ended. It was an amazing night. I mean, that main event was pretty epic. T.J. Dillashaw and Sandhagen delivered. I thought that Sandhagen did enough. He landed more strikes. He did what he needed to do. But also, T.J. with the octagon control, the takedowns, mixing it up – He generally doesn’t always do that. And he did that this fight, exactly the way he needed to like a champion.”
“And he adjusted. Sandhagen did a great fight, but he didn’t adjust the same as T.J. did. And that’s why T.J. got the win. Fun for all of us though; can’t wait to be back in there.”
The co-main event fight ended with Raulian Paiva defeating Kyler Phillips via majority decision. Breaking down this three-round bantamweight bout, Dominick Cruz said:
“As for the co-main event, (Raulian) Paiva and (Kyler) Phillips, another awesome fight that delivered. Paiva with all the crazy techniques; I mean, the matrix stuff, the spinning attacks, the spinning heel kicks, all the spinning back-fists, the takedowns that he landed at the right time, and everything else."
"I mean, it was an awesome fight between these two. They laid it all out on the line. But really what made the difference was the forward pressure of Paiva mixed in with the takedowns, and just the toughness. He landed big shots, and he weathered the storm of Phillips, and got himself the win.” (*Video courtesy: Dominick Cruz Twitter account; H/T Sportskeeda for the transcription)
Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw are currently pursuing the same prize – UFC bantamweight gold
Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw are no strangers to one another. They’ve fought once in the past, with Cruz defeating Dillashaw via split decision in January 2016. The fight saw Cruz regain his UFC bantamweight title.
Both Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw are currently on a quest to regain the UFC bantamweight title.
Presently, the UFC bantamweight title is held by Aljamain Sterling who’s expected to defend it in a rematch against Petr Yan next at UFC 267 on October 30th, 2021.