UFC Boston Fallout

The Comeback has been completed. Over four years after his final title defense and two years after being stripped of the title Dominick Cruz is once again the UFC Bantamweight champion. Cruz had made it clear “ring rust doesn't exist it's just mental weakness.” And he appears to be right. If you showed someone the fight with Johnson without telling them the date and than showed them the fight with Dillashaw they would think they took place just months apart. Effectually Cruz is right back where he was in 2011. He is the champion, one of the pound for pound bests with a style no one seems able to figure out.

The In Ring Action- Most expected a high paced main event given both bantamweights use of foot work. It was a close fight and its easy to see why Dillishaw and his supporters believe hie should have won. But IMO Cruz won. He was much more effective. Cruz always stayed on his toes always moving. Dillishaw fell into the age old trap of hunting the knockout. Dillishaw got away from the very footwork that had been key to his rise to the title. What's amazing is Cruz looked just like he did in his 2011 when he beat both Faber and Mighty Mouse Johnson. Younger fight should take note and learn from Cruz he might be the perfect example of what fighter should be. The Co-Feature had big potential but turned into a grind it out fest. Eddie Alvarez made his name on bloody wild brawls. While Anthony Pettis made his name on amazing highlight reel striking. But its hard to fault Pettis for the way he fought. Pettis struggles in wrestling exchanged his three losses coming in were all in fight where he was forced to wrestle. Fans may have hated it but it's the old issue with any fighter to win or to entertain. The plus side for Pettis he looked better in the wrestling exchanges. Rather that was due to who he was facing or the work of Izzy Martinez is yet to be seen.

HOLLY SHIT WHAT HAPPED YOU EYE! Is no doubt something Matt Mitrone head a few times after his fight with Travis Browne. Love or hate either heavyweight you can't deny the two pokes made a difference. Early on it seemed Mitrone was in control. Not helping was rather poor referring during the fight. When Mitrone was poked a second time the referee didn’t stop the action and give him time to recover. With the kind of power Browne has facing him perfectly healthy is a risk not being able to see in one eye is just asking to be KO'ed. Fransciso Trinaldo scored a strong win over veteran Ross Pearson with five wins in a row Trinadlo might be looking at top ranked fighter next time out. On the prelims Patrick Cote and Ed Herman two of the UFC's longest tenured fighters managed to score good wins. With Herman it will be interesting to see how he does at 205 since his win came over Tim Bosetsch another 185 pouder fighter up a weight class. Cote has come a long way from the guy that was a under sized light heavyweight with heavy hands.

Biggest Winners-

Dominick Cruz- Cruz talked a big game leading up to fight with Dillishaw. He claimed rust didn't exists, the he was better than Dillishaw. Now he's proven himself right. It can't be said enough how perfect his footwork was. He became the first man to ever take Dillishaw down something he did three times. The comeback story and his new found ability to talk won over fans. While he won't have the same level of promotion that Connor McGregor big fight are out there for Cruz. A third fight with Faber and potential rematch with Johnson both could be big fights in the months a head. Of course the question is how is his foot.

Urijah Faber- He can now and has already declared “I told you so.” In Dillishaw's first fight out of Alpha Male he lost the title. And with his rival Cruz back as champion Faber is now firmly back in line for a title shot. You can argue Faber hasn't looked good in recent fights. But he's won and from a business standpoint a rubber match can do big money.

Biggest Losers

TJ Dillishaw- By leaving Alpha Male the now former champion left the door open for major criticism. Of course he could have chosen Alpha Male and stopped working with Ludwig still lost to Cruz and have people going “he should have stayed with Bang.” That said it was clear Dillishaw got to caught up in the attempts to knock Cruz out. He got flat footed and over committed to power shots. Not helping has been Dillishaw's reaction to losing which seems to be the best way to have fans turn on you.

What comes Next

For Cruz as I already said the two fights that make the most sense are either a third Faber fight or a rematch with Demetrious Johnson. Me personally I lean towards the rematch with Johnson. The two fought in 2011 in a entertaining fight. That wound up being DJ's last loss as after that the UFC started the flyweight division. Since than Johnson has become a top pound for pound fighter on many list. It seems n one at flying weight can even touch him. As for TJ Dillishaw I say now is the perfect time to do a fight with Faber. The story writes itself. The two men were very close only to have issues in training end the relationship. Also both men want a title shot but don't really have a clear cut claim. Faber is on a winning streak but has looked sluggish against less competition.

Eddie Alvarez called for a title. To his credit he has two wins over Melendez and Pettis who are former champions. The problem is both wins are via split decision and I can't see many fans wanting to Alvarez after the wrestle heavy fight he just had. I see two options. One is Benson Henderson another former world champion who has had success at welterweight but hasn't committed to staying there full time. The hold up could be the fact Henderson is a free agent and yet to resign with the UFC. The other option Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib is undefeated and hold a win over the current champion. However a series of injures has slowed his career he hasn't fought in nearly two years. However his record would be great on TV.