Former two-time UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is known for his dominant striking skills, but he’s now making a significant change in his style due to the new judging criteria in the UFC.
In a recent interview, Cruz criticized the MMA rules and talked about how he plans to adapt to them.
Cruz is a UFC veteran and has been one of the best competitors in the bantamweight division for years. However, he lost his belt to Cody Garbrandt in 2016. Since then, he has continued to rely on his striking abilities, which have proved to be effective in most of his outings.
However, the judging criteria have changed over the years, and many wrestlers have become dominant in the UFC. This has resulted in UFC stars who depend on their stand-and-bang style getting defeated more frequently. Cruz, who is also a commentator, learned about these changes when he attended the judging criteria meeting.
According to Cruz, the new rules are now focused on the damage done to opponents.
“They’re scoring on damage more than ever. They’re sticking pretty close to [damage being everything]. Like, bloody nose, or cut, or like actual physical you can see the damage, they’re scoring,” he said in a recent interview.
Cruz understands that he cannot complain about the new rules and must adapt to them. He plans to change his game and focus on cutting his opponents. “When you’re wrestling people, you need to be looking for elbows. And knees. You need to cut them. You have to cut the guy. To me, cuts are worth more than takedowns. That’s how I’m looking at it now,” Cruz said.
He also plans to use his takedown skills to his advantage by using them to create opportunities to cut his opponents. Cruz believes that cuts are worth more than takedowns, and he wants to take advantage of this in future.
Some experts have questioned whether Cruz’s new strategy will work since judges do not always award points for cuts. However, Cruz is confident in his approach and believes that it is the best way to adapt to the new rules.
Cruz was last seen in the octagon in August of last year when he took on bantamweight star Marlon Vera and lost after getting knocked out in the 4th round. However, he plans to make a comeback soon and show the world how he has adapted to the new rules.