Cody Garbrandt was designed to beat Dominick Cruz, and nothing else.

@440-fishermandrock8

Жыл бұрын

I thought he had more than 1 win .....

@JustSaiyanZ

Жыл бұрын

@@440-fishermandrock8Nahh bro ur missing the point of his comment 😂

@christianbrunswick6932

Жыл бұрын

It certainly feels like that at this point.

@stopabledu

Жыл бұрын

@@JustSaiyanZhe pointing out the cody had success before the cruz fight. so the comment is a dud

@coolbreeze3793

Жыл бұрын

@@stopableduno I think the point of the comment was to show Cody was trained strictly to get to Cruz and after that fight has looked awful.

Dustin Porier figured out how to beat Khabib easily. He would follow the exact same gameplan as their first fight, but this time, he would bring a gun.

@krav4421

Жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂😂 true

@Olenhylkio

Жыл бұрын

Khabib looks at gun, chuckles, says “That is not bear”

@jorgemasviballs

Жыл бұрын

Last time I tried to shoot a gun I ended up blasting my pants full of taco bell diarrhea

@lodxmas

Жыл бұрын

Jokes aside he could be in that list for figuring out how to beat Max Holloway.

@Olenhylkio

Жыл бұрын

@@lodxmas a very interesting thought experiment, I am for it

Gharbrant's performance against cruz is still one of my favorites to watch. That fight was magical.

@guy7524

Жыл бұрын

The way he mocked throughout the whole fight was so entertaining. I wish he did those in his other fights.

@humanexister

Жыл бұрын

He got outstruck the whole fight, if Cruz had any knockout power he would have taken Cody's fool head off.

@Pepe_Lotudo

11 ай бұрын

​@humanexister but he doesn't, so he didn't.

I would’ve had Valentina shevchenko on this list. She’s been throwing that exact spinning back kick she used on Alexa since her Muay Thai days and I was extremely impressed to see grasso pick up on that specific move and be the first opponent to punish her for it and use it to their advantage.

@arantxaurrutia0

Жыл бұрын

Or the spinning back punch.

@p-townshankzilla2654

Жыл бұрын

To be fair though, seeing Valentinas last few fight, shes looks to be slowing down. I'm not sure she loses that fight 3 years ago. But it was a nice read by Alexa

@sachinchauhan5853

Жыл бұрын

She used this kick when Grasso was too close and she is getting slower due to her age

@Pepe_Lotudo

11 ай бұрын

Valentina hasn't lost consecutively.

@Skank_and_Gutterboy

11 ай бұрын

I saw that fight, I loved that submission.

I love how Randy Courture figured out a bunch of these!

@Dukeflyhawker

Жыл бұрын

Randy was the best

If you survive the first round with Conor McGregor than your chances of winning get higher

@jorgemasviballs

Жыл бұрын

Not higher than he is though

@LexBundy

Жыл бұрын

because his cardio is terrible.. he always sounds out of breath on these tuf episodes

@guy7524

Жыл бұрын

Also applies to the first minute of each round. He tries to impose himself immediately on his opponent which strategically isn't always that smart but makes you look like the dominant fighter. If you can get hold of him and tire him out you can make him half the fighter he is at the start of a round.

@jackpangaro4995

Жыл бұрын

What was the last decision he lost?

@LexBundy

Жыл бұрын

@@jackpangaro4995 he definitely lost that decision when decided to take that broad to the bathroom

Number 1: Jon Jones... Just lie on the mat and wait for that 12 to 6.

@monitor-mindtheover-void6712

Жыл бұрын

Good one😂

@Gertu_23

Жыл бұрын

Guss and reyes have entered the chat*

@PhreakyGimp

Жыл бұрын

@@Gertu_23 except that doesn't make sense because theyre considered wins, cope

@cosmic_JAV

Жыл бұрын

​@@Gertu_23they entered the octagon too, and took a L.

@cameron0077

Жыл бұрын

Litteraly will take himself out of the fight...

As a massive Gaethje fan, I'm grateful for his losses to Alvarez and Poirier. We never would have had that Gaethje vs Ferguson fight turn out the way it did without hard-learned lessons. He also looked great against Fiziev, so needless to say, I'm excited for him to face off against Poirier again and display what he's learned.

@bobbybands1957

11 ай бұрын

This comment has aged very well.👍

@garylasseter2978

11 ай бұрын

He has learned quite a bit.

I can’t imagine Randelman at 160 he always looked so huge

@floivanus

Жыл бұрын

That’s what those natty gains look like 👀

GSP's ultimate weakness: dudes named Matt

@heresthethingyouguys

Жыл бұрын

It takes two to tango

@187btokes

Жыл бұрын

Ultimate weakness? GSP beat him pretty easily the second time and lost only when he was super young. WTF are you talking about lmfao

@downfromthereeefters

Жыл бұрын

@@187btokes- it’s a joke, and IDK if you’ve noticed, but the only 2 losses on GSP’s record are…. Dudes named Matt.

@SRR-5657

Жыл бұрын

@@187btokes he lost to both Matt Sera and Matt Hughes, those are his only 2 losses, that's the joke, he's only lost to people named Matt.

@guy7524

Жыл бұрын

GSP's weakness is aliens abducting him

Honestly i was shocked that more people hadn't jead kicked Dom the way Chito did well before that fight. His awkward in and out foot work always had him exiting while dipping his head low to the ground as he lowers his center and explodes laterally. The only way you can do those types of movements is to really stick and commit to the lunging and its just weird no one ever thought to bait him and then just blast one to the grill.

@arantxaurrutia0

Жыл бұрын

I think Dom has kinda lost that split second which kept him from being kicked in the head.

@kyankukkiwon

Жыл бұрын

@@arantxaurrutia0 agreed

@madgavin7568

Жыл бұрын

I honestly wondered why more fighters didn't start leg kicking Cruz in his earlier days. His style was very movement based and after his injuries, it seemed like a no-brainer to target his legs/knees to limit his movement and slow him down. Really only TJ did that when Cruz was still in his prime years which enabled TJ to come the closest anyone had to beating a prime Cruz but he still lost a split decision, as when he started investing in the leg-kicks it was almost too-late.

@ricardojornada

Жыл бұрын

Agreed. I always wondered why people didn't leg / calf kick him more either. His whole thing was movement, why not chop at the legs?

@chileno189

Жыл бұрын

Cruz also deviated a lot from his normal gameplan against Chito. He was doing a lot of forward blitzes instead of using angles and feints

Justin Gaethje figuring out Tony Ferguson is another that sticks in my mind. After that every fighter had the game plan how to beat him. From looking unbeatable in a massive win streak of 12 fights in the UFC and be seen as Khabib's equal, to then lose 5 in a row after the Gaethje fight and in effect become the gimme fight for fighters on a losing streat to get a win.

@superswaggerorgasm

Жыл бұрын

I think Tony just aged out. By the time that fight happened he was close to 40

@madgavin7568

Жыл бұрын

I mean Tony was already past his prime by that stage due to his age and the knee-injury in 2018. But Justin did expose holes in Tony's striking game.

@davidmock7592

Жыл бұрын

Not really. Gaethje beat him differently than Do Bronx. Chandler used both styles. Tony got by on beating names like Cowboy and Pettis but nothing too major.

@codyconnell6510

Жыл бұрын

I don’t hear enough mention of the two weight cuts tony did 2 weeks apart. Tony did well in the first round. Always wish we saw that fight without him draining himself so close together.

@peaceonmars

Жыл бұрын

When did Tony ever look unbeatable?? He took so much damage in every fight. That's why he was fun to watch.

Anoki slapping Machida in the face 3 times was his way of letting Machida know " you are one tough mofo! " Anoki the G.O.A.T of Japanese Wrestling

@emrules2001

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, that was a casual assault dropped into the video 😅

@stevenwoods5787

Жыл бұрын

i still feel that there are easier ways to get that point across lol

@yungshady4802

Жыл бұрын

​@@stevenwoods5787they're built different

@yungshady4802

Жыл бұрын

​@@emrules2001then he proceeded to take that as a compliment. Other people be built different man😂

@mrchaotiq

11 ай бұрын

Misawa is the GOAT of Japanese wrestling. Inoki is basically the Hogan of the Japanese scene, he was the Japanese equivalent of that doesn't work for me brother.

You did Randleman dirty, sure he was one dimensional, but he did stand with CroCop, and knocked him out in Pride. Also RIP legendary warrior.

@heresthethingyouguys

Жыл бұрын

It takes two to tango

@LukeRosenlieb

Жыл бұрын

Homeboy knocked himself out BEFORE his main event on the card and threw up in the ambulance on the way to the hospital 😜😂

@Drakkonemus

Жыл бұрын

​@@LukeRosenliebconcrete>dome

@GinkgoPete

Жыл бұрын

Randleman was a fucking legend. Despite all the flaws in his game he became a champion.

@madgavin7568

Жыл бұрын

That was when he actually watched tape of fights and listened to the game-plan. Randleman was an athletic freak (and a juicy slut lol) whose athleticism was almost on par with the likes Yoel Romero today. He had potential to be an all time great, but he had poor fight IQ and didn't really evolve.

Cruz hated on showboating so much last weekend because Garbrandt styled on him.

I've studied Dom since I saw him fight live in wec. I hated him and I wanted to know how he was beating my favorite fighters. I grew to appreciate and love the style.

Machida getting absolutely decimated by that old Japanese dude ring side is hilarious lol

How is Ronda Rousey not on this list? Actually, how isn’t she #1?

@guy7524

Жыл бұрын

Because women's MMA was in the infancy and the opponents didn't really have the skillset which resulted in her getting such a long win streak. It took fighters who were brought in and were awesome boxers or kickboxers with long reach to beat her. Rousey can't box and rely on her judo and submisions. To say box and avoid takedowns is figured out is not really true as only the top fighters can beat her. Average fighters without top boxing skills like Juliana Pena she would still would be able to beat.

@kgthakid2911

Жыл бұрын

@@guy7524 I’d agree if Kevin Randleman and Mark Coleman weren’t on this list. They had one dimensional styles in the infancy of the entire sport. If they’re on this list then Ronda should be too.

@ramses1500

Жыл бұрын

Another video so more content lol

@madgavin7568

Жыл бұрын

Too easy a mention IMO. Literally everyone knows her Achilles heel and its been mentioned in previous lists before. Mentioning it again is essentially beating a dead horse.

@5koby4

Жыл бұрын

I mean Rousey kinda did it to herself when she was dominant was when she grabbed her opponent did a hip toss and snatched an arm, then with that idiot Edmund she changed up and started boxing instead.

Dom actually showed some improvement to his style against Vera but I think his age is catching up with him.

@eetfuk3571

Жыл бұрын

he was actually winning that fight until he wasn't.

I think a lot of these styles came out of necessity. If you look at Cruz's resume, for a really long time the only guys he fought were shorter wrestlers who liked to box, and his style was great for dealing with that skill set, but once he started competing against wrestlers who could also kick, or taller strikers in MMA he really began to struggle. He's also been able to stifle a lot of strikers with his wrestling, but as MMA has evolved, we've seen guys with more complete games who can take advantage of Cruz's repetitive boxing and movement against him. I think his fight with Henry Cejudo was a great example of this. Cruz's movement invites a lot of leg kicks, and he's been able to threaten fighters with a takedown to discourage them from throwing it. Unfortunately, Cejudo is a wrestler who can also kick, and he was able to punish Cruz for his lateral movement without having to worry about getting taken down. Being the better, or equivalent wrestler in MMA, he was confident he could get back up. Tactically, he was also able to avoid a lot of Cruz's takedowns by timing his leg kicks as Cruz was moving backwards. This doesn't make timing a takedown off the leg kick impossible off the leg kick, but the window of opportunity is significantly smaller. GSP is another great example of this, his style came about due to all of the strong wrestlers in his weight class. We saw in a lot of the later fights in his careers, that he primarily struggled with strikers who had the wrestling to get back to their feet.

@jorgemasviballs

Жыл бұрын

Hot spicy boner salad

@jaytcache6580

Жыл бұрын

Who would win right now, Cruz or Cody?

@johnmarston3395

11 ай бұрын

@@jaytcache6580Id go Cruz but who knows maybe Cody could bring the dog out

@TroyStevensStelzerPaintingInc

11 ай бұрын

Agree about Dom. Add to that the fact that he needed to adopt a different style after his numerous knee surgeries in order to stay competitive.

@nunyabusinessnessness9680

11 ай бұрын

Yeah either all of that, or maybe Cruz and GSP just blew their knees out.

Vitor's response to Rockhold was pretty hilarious Imma be honest.

I don't think anyone really figured out Gaetche (although Poirier has his fn number), he just took too much damage and slowed down to more human levels over time. Watching Cruz get completely dismantled while Cody clowned on him was something else entirely. Just goddamn. Everyone needs to watch that.

To be Best is GOOD but there's always someone BETTER!!

@Jamesfrancosdog

Жыл бұрын

Not always.

After a long day at work it's always nice when you come home and see a new MMA On Point video

@colejames423

Жыл бұрын

and then it's a let down when the narration comes in and you realize it isn't Tommy :(

@ArseneBorz

Жыл бұрын

​@@colejames423Bailey is growing on me.

That was a short lived Machida Era haha

That Funaki shit is crazy man that last one didn’t look like a slap to me

@ryancunningham6972

Жыл бұрын

Lol I was thinking the same thing. Mf looked mad af too

@fidenciobustos5689

Жыл бұрын

Yea I feel like a casual not knowing the backstory of this 😅

@caglarservili

Жыл бұрын

Isn't it inoki?

How to beat Nate : attack his scar tissue How to beat Jon: drug test How beat Justin: brain scans

@heresthethingyouguys

Жыл бұрын

It takes two to tango

@jorgemasviballs

Жыл бұрын

​@@heresthethingyouguysit takes 3 to flamingo

@krodmandoon3479

Жыл бұрын

@@jorgemasviballs It takes four to square dance

@eetfuk3571

Жыл бұрын

@@krodmandoon3479 it takes 5 to fit inside the Titan Submarine.

God bless Cody, But if brains were leather, he couldn't saddle a mosquito. But that was simply the single greatest performance, in UFC history. On that one night he was as close to perfection as you can get. I've been watching this sport since.1993 and for that one night he was the baddest little man to ever live. I would love to see a prime Dj try to beat him.😮

@Zaeuh214

Жыл бұрын

Demetrius Johnson I believe can be a bantamweight champ.

@madgavin7568

9 ай бұрын

Meh, if you ask me TJ Dillashaw vs Renan Barao was the single greatest performance in UFC history. TJ was a MASSIVE underdog, yet he completely and utterly dominated Barao from start to finish. A more recent example might be Sean Strickland vs Israel Adesanya as HOLY SHIT we did not see that coming. Prime DJ beats Cody honestly. Massive difference in fight IQ and variety of their styles. DJ can do everything, Cody is a limited fighter.

Honestly Cruz was out of his prime, and honestly got robbed out of many of his prime years because of injury. I wouldn’t really say he got “figured out”, before his injuries dom was much faster. So it’s not really fair to say that, considering his style really needed his foot speed.. and especially if they weren’t beat at their best. I just think he got old, and had many serious injuries & surgeries. He wasn’t the same guy man, dude has plantar fasciitis and no knees.. Father time always wins . Great video tho, Shogun dismantling Machida was a great memory. One of the craziest hype derails.

The Jim Carrey In Living Color skit for Edson Barbosa was classic.

If meth was a fighter, it would be Clay. Even man’s eyes don’t rest.

I remember thinking T-Wood would be champ forever. My reasoning was he had a great game plan against every fighter he fought and had to tools to beat any style. I put way to much stock in him stuffing 20 of Damien Mia’s takedowns

@madgavin7568

9 ай бұрын

As it turned out, once you try to bully him with striking and takedowns, he completely shuts down. Rory MacDonald and Jake Shields both laid the blueprint on how to beat him.

@isaiahwilliams2332

9 ай бұрын

@@madgavin7568 the definitely did. Then Usman seemed like the next evolution. I think his knees got the better of him tho

Ronda Rousey: Head movement.

The editing on these videos lately has been so good

Why the fuck did he slap Lyoto like that 😂😂

Content gets stronger and stronger

Great video!

MMA On Point kicks ass! W content 24/7 365

I thought Rory was the first guy to get the blueprint on woodley. Good for Jake Shields on that one, especially since he wasn't known as a stiker at all, and he still managed to back up Woodley with jabs. You could make a top 10 or top 5 of fighters that haven't been figured out yet. GSP, Jones, Khabib / Islam, fighters that ARE beatable but there isn't a blueprint.

@usernamesarewack221

Жыл бұрын

Nope it was Nate Marquardt in Strikeforce

@P.Convenience

Жыл бұрын

@usernamesarewack221 oh in the video they referenced Jake Shields. Thanks for the info

@usernamesarewack221

Жыл бұрын

@P.Convenience no worries. I've been watching MMA for a long time. I just thought I would share.

@ar9214

11 ай бұрын

The Khabib/Islam style is going to be the toughest IMO. Basically, you need a fighter with unbelievable/PED level cardio so they don't get exhausted from all the takedown attempts/pressure, that has amazing TDD and BJJ defense so they don't get submitted or beat up too badly on bottom, that is also a world class striker with KO power. Tall order for sure

@madgavin7568

9 ай бұрын

@@ar9214 Only Volk had those, and everyone knows he's built different.

Dude slapping the shit out of Machida. What the hell 😂😂

@kung_fucius2311

Жыл бұрын

That's Antonio Inoki and fighters actually want to get slapped by him because they think its good luck. In the full video of that, Machida bows to him after getting slapped lol. kzread.info/dash/bejne/oKx-xsuvmrmqqtI.html

@jonbaxter4285

Жыл бұрын

@kung_fucius2311 thank you for that information. I had never seen that clip before.

Chuck Liddell could be on here too. When you think about his downfall you think of his chin. But you could see it in the Jardine fight. Not taking away from the Dean, but Keith wasn't the caliber of fighter Chuck was, but his camp had been watching Chuck on top for years and had the perfect game plan to neutralize his game with leg kicks. Part of why Chuck got hit so easy late was everyone knew his reads on that right of his.

I like the vacuume cleaner in jon jones room joke. Nice one

"I've always fought that one of the best things about mma is that everyone has their own style" respect bro, fight them indeed

great video guys

I didn't see a Luke shout out and it sounded like you made the list at the end Bayliun. If so well done!

Cody was created in a lab to specifically beat Cruz after 10 years. That's why he hasn't been able to match that performance. Dom's "I bought a house with the money I got from beating your teammates" was cold

Justin VS Alvarez top 5 favorite fights of all time.

Justin fighting Ferguson during covid when their was no crowd was brutal. Hearing the shots he landed on Tony were brutal asf

A cool video following this 1 would be how the dominant styles changed in MMA or the UFC since the first few UFC events till present day. For example how Jits dominated until the Wrestlers learnt how to Finnish and then the big guys like Mark Coleman came around in the "muscle era" and eventually sprawl and brawl was the way, all the way to a few years ago when the counter strikers were king or even till today where leg kickers and Dagestani Sambo guys are largely king. Fun history, fun strategies and very interesting to understand the evolution of the game . It could start even earlier if you want to follow the history of MMA as a whole to fights like Ali vs Anoki and organizations like Pancrase and Shooto and the old Value Tae Do tournaments. Now you have 2 episodes both absolute bangers, your welcome .!😉 long live MMA on point.

Great video

Cody’s performance will be remembered forever. Embarrassed the GOAT

" As useful as a Vaccum Cleaner in Jon Jones's hotel room.. " LMAO 😂😂😂

Damn dude, I have been watching UFC and MMA since day one and I have never seen that clip of Vitor combo-ing that guy to death on the ground. He literally KOed that guy about 8 times in a row. He just kept waking him back up with punches just to knock him out again, Love it. Vitor was my dude back when he was just a youngin. That running combo on Silva was such a vicious clip too.

This video was FIRE 🔥 my eyes and ears were glued the whole time , I’m mad it stopped so please , ANOTHER ONE (dj khaled voice)

Bailey my twitch guy!! Just something about dude telling a story. Love his content

‘When they took away headbutts I had to learn other skills’ legendary quote

You should have put the Gracies as number 1. There was a while where the whole family, with Royce being the face of them, seemed like unstoppable monsters, but eventually, they were figured out in rather surprising fashion

@CommodoreJ

11 ай бұрын

They ran into sakuraba

@armintanzarian3924

11 ай бұрын

Without the guy they got smoked everybody

Sauna session and mma on point let’s go

3:11 MMA was BRUTAL back in the day 🥺😮 That still happens occasionally today, but that ref should've stepped in much sooner.

@buckhead40z

Жыл бұрын

That's not representative of early MMA, that ref is a complete idiot and should get the shit kicked out of him.

7:06 why so serious?! 😂that third shot had so much steam on it

Never thought I'd see that Even Steven's clip ever.

Like the addition of the Uncle Diaz 😂😂

Randy couture also figured out chuck liddell. Granted he lost the rematches but chuck was on a roll before randy put the breaks on him. Could have also easily called him the "answer" as much as "the natural".

Any Gracies' losses comes down to them having next to no wrestling or striking capabilities as pure Brazilian Jiu-jitsu fighters. Most recent example: Kron Gracie's loss to Charles Jourdain in UFC 288. It was amazing that Kron only lost by decision.

I'm kind of worried for mark Coleman considering he's about to box and I believe he's 57

And stickland figured out adesanya 😂

Randy taking the heavyweight belt from Tim Silvia was a performance!

Was hoping there’s be a video of the fights where they first lost to the person who figured out their style.

Bro is nobody gonna talk that Japanese dude slapping tf outta lyoto machida??? 🤣 good lord

My life would be very boring without this channel

MMA Right On Point 💯

Bro, those 3 slaps though🥴

You’re gonna have to do an update and add Strickland vs Izzy on there cos If that doesn’t qualify as decoded I don’t know what is.

spot on t-wood unfortunately...but I still got love for one of welterweights finest! man did he deliver!

I think Francis Ngannou was also a puzzle that was solved by stipe

@Drakkonemus

Жыл бұрын

Francis was pretty one dimensional and loss to Zoumana. The real puzzle is post Lewis Francis

@lacostiben

Жыл бұрын

Was not that hard to figure out…survive 2 first minutes and wrestle him. Beat the patient and properly trained with wresting version is something else.

@lacostiben

Жыл бұрын

Was not that hard to figure out…survive 2 first minutes and wrestle him. Beat the patient and properly trained with wresting version is something else.

I was so happy to see gaethje avenge his loss to dp

That right hook Jake threw would have knocked a lot of professionals out

7:36 😂Why u tryin him!😅

Randy Couture was really pulling everybody’s card in his prime

Balian shows his saltiness for fighters😂

Shia Lebouf in Even Stevens 😂 classic

Mark Hamill cracked the Jon Jones code. You make Jon beat himself.

DC was figured out by JBJ & Stipe at the end. As dominant as the Double Champ was, deserves at least an honorable mention.

@ArseneBorz

Жыл бұрын

Body shots to leave the head vulnerable.

That lyoto shit was crazy don’t let a man slap you especially three times and calling it respect 😂

Great vid. I think this speaks to a larger problem in Hollywood… writing is getting weaker right across the board. So many classic movies are being remade now, they’re not even trying to write new stories… at best they’ll do a sequel or a prequel (and ruin it) because then they don’t even need to come up with something truly original and creative.

I Fucking loved that theme

7:05 Holy sht, it's the Crimson Chin without his costume!

Tyron wasn't figured out. He just lost the hunger. Think back to Rashad Evans' final fights. You could see it on their faces. Frank Mir was another one.

@usernamesarewack221

Жыл бұрын

Woodley got ktfo in Strikeforce by Nate Marquardt way before he was in the UFC

@Fencellisk

Жыл бұрын

@@usernamesarewack221 and he went on to be a champion. Wtf is your point?! Get out of here with that disrespectful shit. Don't even answer my rhetorical question.

Let’s Goooooo!

gotta credit michael vick for the simpson line 😂

You know you've been figured out when Kevin Lee beats you!

Israel Adesanya vs. Sean Strickland. That is all.

Phil baroni had crazy power but couldn't take a punch from a baby

Hurts the day but add Izzy to the list

Holm/Rousey and Weidman/Silva come to mind.

Dominick Cruz truly elevated the sport. Obviously, you have to have fundamentals, and defense is part of that, but defensive fighters don’t win fights. For a long time, besides fundamentals, the biggest factors in MMA were offense and countering, in both striking and grappling. Cruz used movement to not be where offensive pressure fighters were at, and was a great scrambler in his own right: He used this defensive movement to find openings for his offense. It’s only great counter-strikers that have gotten the best of him after refining his style… and that’s the most rare and hard-to-train ability in MMA. Makes me wonder why nobody has used Cruz’s movement as a template for offensive grappling as well… and if Cruz would have won those later losses if he’d closed distance in a way that would nullify a great counter-striker. I mean… if Demian Maia had anything resembling Cruz’s movement… Tyron Woodley probably wouldn’t have lasted 5 rounds stuffing every takedown from predictably straight angles. Imagine a Phil Davis blast double from an angle where you can’t hat your knee to his chin:

Cruz is hilarious. You watch his interviews and trash talking and he is obviously an intelligent guy that takes himself very seriously.....but then you watch him fight, and he moves around like a drunken Orangutan that is trying to imitate Capoeira.

What ive learned is that Randy will figure you out 😅

Getting the two biggest paydays of your career well after you are washed up does not ruin your legacy...it just shows that you're smart.

I feel like Cejudo and Garbrandt 'figured out' Cruz. Cejudo actually full on dissected his style and made him look bad with the leg kicks. Garbrandt played Cruz's game and did it better (I'm sure the surprise helped... Nobody expected Garbrandt to have that much subtlety and evasive countering). Vera was losing the fight until the KO. The KO is obviously the most important part, I'm not taking credit away. But it did not at all seem like he 'figured him out' so much as he just bided his time until he found his 'Yoel Romero' moment. He was really trying the same thing TJ Dillashaw had tried years earlier. Cruz just got slower with age, and that Latin chin got cracked.