A bantamweight showcase heads to Abu Dhabi on Oct. 22 when one of the most stacked cards of 2022 unfolds at UFC 280. Two of the event’s most anticipated fights involve 135-pound fighters: Aljamain Sterling vs. T.J. Dillashaw and Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley.
Dominick Cruz, a two-time UFC champion is not only one of the most respected bantamweights in history but also has one of MMA’s sharpest minds. And ahead of UFC 280, he broke down the two bantamweight matchups on The MMA Hour, starting with Yan vs. O’Malley.
” I think Yan has the most experience,” Cruz stated. You have to credit [Marlon] Vera for what she did to O’Malley. He completed him. It was true. O’Malley’s words make it sound like O’Malley is undefeated. But, he did lose that fight. And when you look — the proof is in the results, but it’s not MMA math. Like, [O’Malley’s] got a reach advantage, he’s got good footwork. Yan is going to be an excellent fighter if he can keep his defense strong.
” It’s only three rounds which makes it an excellent fight,” Cruz said. O’Malley is able to keep up his speed and maintain his riding style for the three rounds. He’ll be supported by his range and southpaw stance. What supports Yan, to me, is he can switch stance — he can go southpaw or conventional at any time, and as we saw with him versus [Jose] Aldo, he’s efficient in both stances equally, defensively. That’s why I believe defense is the best in that fight. .”
I think the winner in this fight is the one with better defense.
It was a surprise to many when the UFC booked Yan against O’Malley. The Russian fighter is a former UFC champion and widely considered to be one of the best 135-pounders in the world. In each of O’Malley’s four previous bouts, there was a title. O’Malley, on the other hand, is a total newcomer to the top of the division. He’s one of the most popular names at 135 pounds, but his only two bouts against ranked opposition have ended in a first-round TKO loss to Vera and a no contest against Pedro Munhoz. Dana White, the UFC president, admitted that it was difficult for him to believe the UFC 280 matchup would make sense.
But, Cruz is not among the people who were surprised O’Malley won the Yan fight.
” This just means that he has renegotiated his contract, and is getting paid,” Cruz stated. “That’s all that means. That’s it. It’s simple. He wasn’t chasing the best of the best because he wasn’t getting paid to fight the best the best — yet. Now, he is.”
As for Sterling’s title defense against Dillashaw, which is expected to co-headline UFC 280, Cruz said he expects a battle that could end up looking similar to Sterling’s rematch with Yan at UFC 273, which ended in a narrow split decision victory for “The Funkmaster.”
“That’s a tough one too,” Cruz said.
“It comes down to T.J. stuffing takedowns, which, before he fought me, he had 100-percent takedown defense. So I think that — why would that not continue? He would do a great job defensively, I believe. He can also be pressured by T.J. if he keeps ‘Aljo on his back foot. It’s almost like fighting a race. He’s very powerful, cuts weight and is strong. You can see that he did Yan a similar fight. It was an interesting fight and a close fight.
“But, you cannot really sleep on “Aljo,” Cruz said. He can take you out of the fight by getting a takedown and control you for the entire round. So that’s a tough fight for both of those guys. I’m excited to watch it as a fan.”
