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UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs. Cruz (1/17/2016) - Boston, MA (TD Garden)


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UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs. Cruz
January 17, 2016
Boston, MA (TD Garden)

UFC Bantamweight Championship: T.J. Dillashaw © (135) vs. Dominick Cruz (135) (third defense) - Cruz, DEC (split)
Anthony Pettis (155.5) vs. Eddie Alvarez (155.5) - Alvarez, DEC (split)
Travis Browne (238) vs. Matt Mitrione (249) - Browne, TKO (punches), R3 (4:09)
Ross Pearson (155) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (155.5) - Trinaldo, DEC (unanimous)

Fox Sports 1 Preliminary Card:
Patrick Côté (171) vs. Ben Saunders (170) - Côté, TKO (punches), R2 (1:14)
Tim Boetsch (206) vs. Ed Herman (204.5)  - Herman, TKO (knee and punches), R2 (1:39)
Chris Wade (155.5) vs. Mehdi Baghdad (156) - Wade, SUB (rear naked choke), R1 (4:30)
Maximo Blanco (146) vs. Luke Sanders (145.5) - Sanders, SUB (rear naked choke), R1 (3:38)

Fight Pass Preliminary Card:
Paul Felder (155.5) vs. Daron Cruickshank (155) - Felder, SUB (rear naked choke), R3 (3:56)
Ilir Latifi (205) vs. Sean O'Connell (205.5) - Latifi, KO (punch), R1 (0:30)
Charles Rosa (145.5) vs. Kyle Bochniak (145) - Rosa, DEC (unanimous)
Rob Font (135) vs. Joey Gomez (135) - Font, TKO (strikes), R2 (4:13)
Francimar Barroso (205) vs. Elvis Mutapcic (201) - Barroso, DEC (unanimous)

Event Bonuses ($50,000):
Performance of the Night: Luke Sanders
Performance of the Night: Ed Herman
Fight of the Night: T.J. Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz

Attendance: 12,022
Gate: $1.3 million
Rating: 2.28 million viewers

Cancelled Bouts:
Charles Rosa vs. Jimy Hettes - Injury to Hettes
Abdul-Kerim Edilov vs. Francimar Barroso - Injury to Edilov (Torn Meniscus)\
Rob Font vs. Patrick Williams - Injury to Williams
Beneil Dariush vs. Mairbek Taisumov - Injury to Dariush
Dennis Bermudez vs. Maximo Blanco - Injury to Bermudez (Staph Infection)
Chris Wade vs. Mairbek Taisumov - Taisumov Visa Issues
Charles Rosa vs. Augusto Mendes - Injury to Mendes (Rib)

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Felder vs. Cruickshank should be all types of awesome.

 

I find it interesting that Charles Rosa went from facing Jimy Hettes, who is good on the ground, to BJJ world champion Augusto "Tanquinho" on short notice. I believe Tanquinho was training for a fight in Legacy on Feb. 5.

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Fascinated by Cruz vs Dillashaw. I just hope if Cruz wins that he can stay healthy.

Despite Cruz being out for awhile, there really isn't a new crop of guys at bantamweight. Almeida and Sterling (should he come back) are at best 2 or 3 fights away from being the legitimate contenders for the belt. Ruling those two out along with Garbrandt, there isn't a guy I would favor over Cruz. If Faber is struggling with Rivera and Saenz, Cruz would absolutely clown him in a third fight. Rivera and Saenz are tough and decent enough fighters, but they ain't world level, tippity top fighters.

Whoever wins this fight on Sunday is basically waiting for one of those three prospects to be ready. So I guess they can squeeze DJ going up to 135 or Faber getting one last crack at UFC gold in the interim.

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The footwork game will be the best we've ever seen. I'm interested to see who can do the wonky angles and in-outs better. Cruz didn't look like he lost much in his step against Mizugaki but that was 15-16 months and another ACL tear ago. Dillashaw is faster but less consistent with the Cruz-esque footwork. Cruz is probably the most cerebral fighter in MMA but sometimes leaves his chin open when throwing leg kicks while jumping inside. Cruz is 2" taller but they have the same reach.

 

Heart wants Cruz, brain says Dillashaw. 

 

And yeah, Felder is going to be pissed after losing two in a row.

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Hoping for a Dominick Cruz victory for his WEC days, he has a unique style, he's the best talking head/MMA analyst and what a story it would make. Cruz tore his ACL, the replacement didn't take so had the surgery again. Cruz runs through Miazaki and then tears his other ACL. Dominick goes for the UFC Bantamweight Championship he never lost.

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This is a hell of a start to the year for events.  Looking forward to this card which is rare for me for an FS1 show.  Really interested to see how Cruz matches up after so much time off with the new champ.  Alvarez/Pettis should be electric. 

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Pettis vs. Alvarez would've been a FOTY contender, but it's going to be hard for them to surpass Lawler vs. Condit.

 

Either way the main card is excellent.

 

I expect Browne to knock out Mitrione in the second.

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Pettis vs. Alvarez would've been a FOTY contender, but it's going to be hard for them to surpass Lawler vs. Condit.

 

Either way the main card is excellent.

 

I expect Browne to knock out Mitrione in the second.

 

I'd feel more confident about Browne if his technique didn't start looking so sloppy under Glendale Fight Club.

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I'd never seen that Faber vs Cruz match. I think was the show that was the first UFC on BT Sport (after ESPN gave up) and BT hadn't done the deal with Virgin cable yet, so I couldn't see it.

 

Haven't seen much of Steve Mazzagatti recently. Did he retire or something?

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I'd never seen that Faber vs Cruz match. I think was the show that was the first UFC on BT Sport (after ESPN gave up) and BT hadn't done the deal with Virgin cable yet, so I couldn't see it.

 

Haven't seen much of Steve Mazzagatti recently. Did he retire or something?

 

Maz works in Nevada, and I guess the NAC decided to get other (meaning more competent imo) Nevada refs to do UFC shows instead of him. Tapology has his last event as the WSOF card with the Toquinho/Shields fiasco where he screwed up really bad.

 

TheVileOne brought him up last year, and I looked it up then to see his last gigs. His last UFC event was UFC 168 in December 2013, and his last UFC main events were Faber vs. Jorgensen and Aldo vs. Edgar.

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