Dominick Cruz explains how he would beat Conor McGregor
The long list of fighters champing at the bit for a piece of Conor McGregor goes pretty deep into the UFC roster, but now it also includes the bantamweight champion of the world.
Dominick Cruz has long teased the possibility of engaging in "super fights" where he would move to a different weight class to challenge a champion from another division.
Right now McGregor would be that obstacle at 145 pounds and Cruz is confident that he has the technical skills but maybe more importantly the mental acuity to tackle the outspoken Irishman.
There have been more than a few occasions where McGregor seemingly defeated his opponents before ever stepping into the Octagon together with his brash attacks on the microphone and verbal warfare ahead of battle.
Cruz promises that wouldn't be the case for him and he invites McGregor to try.
When it comes to the technical aspect of the potential matchup, Cruz is also knows he has the skills to frustrate McGregor and out work him on the feet where he's racked up so many wins during his career.
Cruz points specifically at his defensive skills as an area where McGregor would struggle to hit him and he's even willing to give him a significant weight advantage by meeting in a showdown as high as 155 pounds.
"I know I can also technically beat him. And I know at 145 pounds, I'm extremely fast and hard to deal with," Cruz said. "I can beat McGregor, absolutely, and I would love to fight him at 145 pounds or 155 if he wins the title. I don't care.
"I'm the champion and my style is built for moving up in weight class cause I don't take damage."
Cruz certainly sounds interested in the possibility of facing McGregor but there are more than a few obstacles standing in the way of the matchup actually coming together.
At the top of the list is McGregor's fight coming up with Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York on November 12. Meanwhile, McGregor still holds the featherweight championship, which he hasn't defended yet since winning the belt last December.
Of course, Cruz also has potential fights with top contenders TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt awaiting him in the bantamweight division as well.
That's part of the reason why Cruz isn't calling McGregor out but instead just stating facts that he believes to be true if they ever fought each other in the UFC.
"Listen, everybody's calling out (Conor) McGregor so I don't want to be another guy cause everybody wants that fight," Cruz said. "But the thing is, McGregor's picking his own fights so that's not up to me. That's not up to the UFC.
"That's up to McGregor."
