UFC 207: Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt in Development
UFC 207 has its second title fight in development, with Dominick Cruz defending his bantamweight belt against rising star Cody Garbrandt.
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting first reported that the UFC 207 matchup is in the works.
Sorry TJ Dillashaw, Cody Garbrandt will reportedly be getting the next shot at Dominick Cruz. Despite a strong social media push this week, Dillashaw will have to wait his turn.
Cruz and Garbrandt’s feud has already been brewing, and with Garbrandt’s star growing with every fight, this seems to be the sensical fight to make from a promotional standpoint. From a merit standpoint, Dillashaw seems to be the most deserving of the two. He has top-5 wins for starters, and had a very close fight with Cruz in January.
Nevertheless, Garbrandt has opened eyes with his knockout power in the Octagon, and has some fans thinking he could catch the typically unhittable Cruz.
Garbrandt made his promotional debut with a 5-0 record, all wins via knockout. After knocking out Marcus Brimage and Augusto Mendes in addition to a win over Henry Briones, “No Love” received a headlining slot against hyped prospect Thomas Almeida.
Garbrandt surprised many by putting away the Brazilian knockout artist with relative ease in the first round. The Team Alpha Male product then took out respected veteran Takeya Mizugaki in August with another knockout.
Dominick Cruz is known as the best defensive fighter in the game and also one of the sport’s best comeback stories. Cruz was sidelined for just under three years with a multitude of injuries from 2011 to 2014. After a dominant victory in his comeback fight against Takeya Mizugaki, Cruz was given a shot to reclaim the title that was stripped from him.
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Then he was injured again and missed 2015. The title shot was still waiting for Cruz when he returned in January, and he won it by defeating TJ Dillashaw via split decision. After settling the score with Urijah Faber via dominant five round decision in June, Cruz is ready to take on Faber’s student, Cody Garbrandt.
According to Cage Pages, Cruz is the second-best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and Cody Garbrandt is the second best contender at bantamweight.
UFC 207 will take place on December 30 in the T-Mobile Arena of Las Vegas. Ronda Rousey seeks redemption in the co-main event against current champion Amanda Nunes. Also, Cain Velasquez will finally get his rematch against Fabricio Werdum.
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