T.J. Dillashaw is of the belief that Dominick Cruz hasn’t changed his game plan over the years.
Dillashaw is no stranger to Cruz. The two fought back in Jan. 2016. Cruz defeated Dillashaw via split decision to regain the UFC bantamweight title. It’s a result that Dillashaw continues to dismiss.
Dillashaw Says Cruz Doesn’t Change Game Plan
Speaking to RJ Clifford on SiriusXM, Dillashaw expressed his belief that what you see is what you get with Cruz (h/t BJPenn.com).
“Cruz doesn’t really switch up his game plan though, he’s kind of a one-trick pony,” Dillashaw said. “Even though he’s got all this crazy movement, these angles and stuff, he still is a one-trick pony. He can’t really change up, he can’t be like ‘I’m getting beat up on my feet, I better take this guy down and use jiu-jitsu.’ He doesn’t have that. Cody Garbrandt, he needed to knock him out, there was no way he was going to beat him, but he can’t do that. He doesn’t have knockout power. It’s not like Cruz can really change it, it’s more of a fact of it’s just hard to figure out.”
Cruz is set to challenge Henry Cejudo for the UFC bantamweight title this Saturday night (May 9). The bout will serve as UFC 249’s co-headliner. Jose Aldo was initially supposed to challenge Cejudo but travel issues due to the COVID-19 crisis put a stop to that.
As for Dillashaw, he’s still serving a two-year suspension under USADA. He was flagged for EPO use. Dillashaw will be eligible to return after Jan. 18, 2021.
