Am I the only one that thinks Cruz vs Shaw wouldn't be that close?

[SchlomoS]

Well then you are choosing to be blind. That fight was a closely contested decision that fans still argue about to this day, whereas Barao vs TJ 1 was a complete domination. TJ shut him down in every single round and battered him to a TKO finish, there was no debate whatsoever as to who won the fight let alone any of the rounds. It was all Dillashaw. Your comparison makes absolutely no sense.

i can't help it if you fail to see the obvious comparison. You thought i was talking about their fights? lol

 

[Cptn1NSAN0]

i can't help it if you fail to see the obvious comparison. You thought i was talking about their fights? lol

Your comparison is still retarded. Jones is not Cruz, and Cruz has basically been out for four years, not just one. Dillashaw is a better mixed martial artist than Gustafsson is, Dillashaw won his championship by crushing the previous champion 2x, he didn't lose a close decision and never touch the belt.

How is that an obvious comparison to someone who uses logic in their thought process?

 

[SchlomoS]

Your bias is shining through loud and clear. TJ isn't legit, yet McDonald is? Did he prove that by getting destroyed by Faber and Barao? And Sterling hasn't finished anyone earlier than the 3rd, yet TJ won't even make it to the second with him. Cool story.

TJ isn't Faber or Barao. On what basis are you saying TJ beats anyone else in the top 15? You don't have one. That is my point. Gustaffson could beat Jones, but couldn't beat AJ.

Is this a mystery to you? That some fighters match up poorly with other fighters?

It had been speculated from way before TJ entered the conversation that Barao would be weak against someone like Cruz. Well someone like Cruz comes along and proves that right. That doesn't mean that TJ can now beat Conor, Mighty Mouse, or be a favorite against Cruz. It's not bias to pick certain fighters over other's because of how they fight. TJ will eventually either prove me right or wrong because he's set himself up for nothing but the best fights in his division. And time will tell.

 

[SchlomoS]

Your comparison is still retarded. Jones is not Cruz, and Cruz has basically been out for four years, not just one. Dillashaw is a better mixed martial artist than Gustafsson is, Dillashaw won his championship by crushing the previous champion 2x, he didn't lose a close decision and never touch the belt.

How is that an obvious comparison to someone who uses logic in their thought process?

dude you are so stupid, I guess i'll have to spell this out for you.

Neither Gustaffson or TJ had beaten ANY top 10 fighters before they got a title shot.

Just because they both matched up well with the champions does not logically follow that they match up well with anyone else. That's real logic kid. Not the kind of "logic" that thinks TJ is going to walk over a champion who has never been dominated in his career outside of a submission loss to Faber a weight class above. We know what Cruz is capable of, we don't really know anything about TJ.

 

[MPD-Psycho]

I'm not sure if this fight is even happening.

 

[po_thead]

I cannot wait for Dom to son him

 

[Cptn1NSAN0]

dude you are so stupid, I guess i'll have to spell this out for you.

Neither Gustaffson or TJ had beaten ANY top 10 fighters before they got a title shot.

Just because they both matched up well with the champions does not logically follow that they match up well with anyone else. That's real logic kid. Not the kind of "logic" that thinks TJ is going to walk over a champion who has never been dominated in his career outside of a submission loss to Faber a weight class above.

Jesus Christ, you are the worst kind of poster. One of those "on paper" kinda guys. Rather than taking people's skills and abilities as fighters into your thought process, you just talk about who's beaten who, who couldn't even beat who, so and so lost to so and so, yada yada yada. Give me a fucking break. I think TJ will beat Cruz because of how their skills match up, as well as other circumstances like ring rust and injuries vs. championship momentum but it's not about fucking rankings. And I never said I thought Cruz would get walked over, learn to read.

We know what Cruz is capable of, we don't really know anything about TJ.

The exact opposite is true, if you actually pay attention to fights. Cruz has only shown us 60 seconds of action in the last four years, but you claim to know exactly what he's capable of? Lol. In that time TJ has turned in eight dominant wins, six of them by stoppage and three of them by headkick, with his only losses being a BS early stoppage and a close decision loss that pretty much every major MMA media outlet scored for him. Sounds like we know a lot more about what TJ is capable of at this moment, but keep talking out of your ass, troll.

 

[TouchdownBundy]

If something close to the same Cruz who was fighting 4 years ago shows up, I think Dillashaw looks slow and loses.

 

[Selukrid612]

TJ isn't Faber or Barao. On what basis are you saying TJ beats anyone else in the top 15? You don't have one. That is my point. Gustaffson could beat Jones, but couldn't beat AJ.

Is this a mystery to you? That some fighters match up poorly with other fighters?

It had been speculated from way before TJ entered the conversation that Barao would be weak against someone like Cruz. Well someone like Cruz comes along and proves that right. That doesn't mean that TJ can now beat Conor, Mighty Mouse, or be a favorite against Cruz. It's not bias to pick certain fighters over other's because of how they fight. TJ will eventually either prove me right or wrong because he's set himself up for nothing but the best fights in his division. And time will tell.

I'll take the fact that you completely ignored my points as you conceding that that last post of yours was some serious BS on your part. As for what criteria I'm using to judge potential matchups, that would be the same criteria everyone uses to predict fights. The eye test, skills/abilities comparisons, etc.

We've had this conversation before, but there's a lack of understanding on your part if you don't realize that the elite skills TJ demonstrated against Barao and others set him up well against anybody in the division. He has great wrestling, striking, speed, footwork, cardio, etc. You don't have to agree that he'd beat Cruz, or even MM, to see that. But to claim those skills don't set him up to beat anyone else in the top 15 is just pure stupidity. There's no other way to describe it.

 

[Wadtucket]

Cruz has been out for over a decade, has wrecked 3 glass knees multiple times and is pushing 40. It's a walk in the park for Dillerswachg

 

[SchlomoS]

I'll take the fact that you completely ignored my points as you conceding that that last post of yours was some serious BS on your part. As for what criteria I'm using to judge potential matchups, that would be the same criteria everyone uses to predict fights. The eye test, skills/abilities comparisons, etc.

We've had this conversation before, but there's a lack of understanding on your part if you don't realize that the elite skills TJ demonstrated against Barao and others set him up well against anybody in the division. He has great wrestling, striking, speed, footwork, cardio, etc. You don't have to agree that he'd beat Cruz, or even MM, to see that. But to claim those skills don't set him up to beat anyone else in the top 15 is just pure stupidity. There's no other way to describe it.

You didn't make any points worth responding to; but which one specifically got your goat?

I think you misunderstand my position, I'm not saying TJ is some bum or isn't a good fighter, I think he's proven he's very good, even before the Barao fights. In fact I was one of the few that publicly defended his title shot.

In this case, the eye test isn't enough for me. Firstly, we have to accept the premise that some fighters have other fighters' number. Some people have skills and movement that just confound their opponent, no matter ranking. It's been my contention that this is what happened with TJ vs Barao. Do you not remember when Cruz first got injured and Barao won the interim? Very few though Barao would ever beat Cruz.

When i posted the top 15, i only choose a few that I would expect to beat him. Although I don't think he beats many, if any of them tbh. Not that I don't think he can't beat them, but from what I've seen he wouldn't. How is his wrestling compared to someone like Sterling? How would it work against McDonald or Caraway? Is that hands by his pants going to work against a guy like McDonald that is notorious for finding chins? Or Almeida? Or Pickett? TJ is hittable. He's not like Cruz, he was getting punched left and right in both Barao fights. He's small for the weight class, I don't think his power is enough to deter anyone like Lineker from just walking up and throwing bombs. We've seen Gustaffson against 1 guy in the top 10 after Jones, and he got knocked out. We just don't know how good Gustaffson is too. If people were saying he'd destroy Weidman and Cain, I'd be saying the exact same thing here. Not because I don't like Gus or TJ, but because we don't know how any of those fine skills translate because we haven't seen it. Barao and Jon Jones are both unique fighters. Beating them doesn't automatically mean the rest of the division is on notice.