Showdown on UFC: Going with Cruz

In an MMA world dominated by champions Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Jon Jones, there is another title-holder who should be mentioned in the same breath as these greats. His name is Dominick Cruz and his bout will be made available to fans, for free, on Saturday night.

Watch the event live on Sportsnet ONE at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

He is the smallest of the seven champions, but possesses a style unlike any of the others. His footwork is unmatched. His unpredictability matches that of GSP and Bones. His wrestling is as dominant as Cain Velasquez’ and unlike Jones, Silva, Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo, he has avenged the only loss on his record. While the others may never get the chance to do so, “The Dominator” has balanced his MMA record.

In speaking with many of his training partners, the likes of which have included Brandon Vera, Travis Browne and Mike Easton, a common theme arises. Trying to catch the 135-pound champion is extremely difficult, and that’s just sparring. During a fight, Cruz is running at 100 per cent, which has provided headaches for world-class fighters like Urijah Faber and Joseph Benavidez.

His next opponent will be Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, a worthy adversary who must do what no one has been able to do in over four years: figure out how to defeat Cruz, and actually pull it off inside the cage.

Johnson’s game is stellar — his angles and wrestling are top-notch in the bantamweight division. Like Cruz, he counter-attacks at unorthodox angles, secures takedowns, and let’s his ground and pound to the talking. But catching the champ in the stand up, clinch or wrestling realms will be a tough task.

Cruz is a master of zigging, when his opponents think he will zag. His feints appear predictable, but often, they are not. When an opponent believes they have figured out his tendencies, they are often surprised by a punching combination, that like his surprise double leg takedowns, often places them on their back, momentarily staring at the lights on the ceiling, while figuring out it’s imperative to get out of dodge.

When the time often comes for St-Pierre, Silva, Jones, Edgar and Aldo to defend their titles, fans are asked to pony up the funds to purchase the pay-per-view. It goes without saying that this is often money well spent, but when the opportunity arises when you can see a UFC champion on free television, missing this rare chance is inexcusable. On Saturday night, we will all get the chance to not make this silly mistake.

While the four Sportsnet regional channels will be playing the Major League Baseball playoffs, Sportsnet ONE will be dedicated the UFC Live 6: Cruz vs. Johnson, the only place in Canada to not only watch this event, but to see it in high definition.

The last time the UFC gave fans a free title fight was in September of 2007, when Quinton (Rampage) Jackson defended his light-heavyweight title against Dan (Hendo) Henderson, an event that Sportsnet also aired at that time. Four and half years later, the network and the promotion are proud to present the bantamweight title fight that is sure to be 25 minutes (or less) of sheer mayhem.

When you get two of the fastest fighters on the planet (Cruz and Johnson), lock them inside the octagon, generally speaking, something has to give. While a fight is a fight and anything can happen, predicting a finish in this bout is difficult to forecast. Historical data has taught us that we are in for a five-round treat, and rest assured, I’ve already allocated my Saturday night to this extravaganza.

Here are my predictions for the main event, as well as the full fight card for UFC Live 6: Cruz vs. Johnson. As always, I have a basic caveat that simply put, means I cannot take into a consideration a fighter’s silly game plan. If a superiour grappler decides to stand and trade with an opponent who is far more skilled than he is in the stand-up realm, well…you get the picture:

Main Card (Sportsnet One)

Main Event: Bantamweight Title Fight

(C) Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson – Cruz via unanimous judges decision

Co Main Event:

(HW) Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve – Struve by submission

Rest of Main Card

(WW) Charlie Brenneman vs. Anthony Johnson – Johnson via unanimous judges decision

(LW) Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman – Wiman via TKO

Preliminary Card (Facebook)

(LW) Yves Edwards vs. Rafaello Oliveira – Oliveira by submission

(LW) Michael Johnson vs. Paul Sass – Johnson via TKO

(BW) Byron Bloodworth vs. Mike Easton – Easton via TKO

(LW) T.J. Grant vs. Shane Roller – Grant via unanimous judges decision

(WW) Josh Neer vs. Keith Wisniewski – Neer via unanimous judges decision

(BW) Joseph Sandoval vs. Walel Watson – Watson via submission