Note: Full results from rest of the card available at the bottom of the page.
Dominick Cruz limped around the outer perimeter of the octagon early Monday morning in Boston, raising his reclaimed UFC championship belt towards the crowd at TD Garden.
The 30-year-old bantamweight wanted to share his moment at UFC Fight Night 81 with as many fans as possible because, he said, they powered him there. Injuries that have wrecked the careers of a wide range of athletes only served to strengthen Cruz, who returned to mixed martial arts to strip T.J. Dillashaw of the 135-pound division’s title via split decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48).
“Without support in my weakest times,” Cruz said once he re-entered the cage, “I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Cruz’s weakest times were innumerable and long lasting. He was the UFC’s first and only bantamweight champion but forfeited his belt due to inactivity when a string of setbacks including two ACL surgeries, a broken hand and torn groin sidelined him for three years.
After Cruz finally made his initial return and knocked out Takeya Mizugaki in 2014, he tore the ACL in his other leg. Cruz refused to quit, silencing calls to end his career.
“No one is retiring me except me,” Cruz said. “I’ve been through too much.”
The fight with Dillashaw was the most adversity Cruz had faced in the octagon. It was a razor-thin competition that sliced the opinions of media and fans in half regarding who won.
Dillashaw landed 144 strikes to Cruz’s 136, but converted on only 33 percent of his attempts. Cruz hit more economically at 40 percent, and also took Dillashaw down three times in the middle rounds.
Dillashaw’s lone takedown came in the fourth round, when he seemed to take control of the final 10 minutes. That judge Tony Weeks gave Dillashaw neither the fourth nor the fifth round on his scorecard added to the controversy.
“I felt like I won the last two rounds pretty decisively,” Dillashaw said before concluding, “I want to do it again.”
Cruz has options going forward, as a rematch with Dillashaw and a trilogy bout against rival Urijah Faber are both possibilities. Concerns of another knee injury surfaced when Cruz wobbled his way through the fifth round, but he said his strained movement was from a preexisting foot injury that he fought through.
“All (my opponents) built me into who I am right now and T.J. just added to that,” Cruz said. “Now I’m on another level.”
No matter what his future holds, Cruz completed what will go down as one of the most inspirational comebacks in UFC history. He always believed he was capable, but also felt an extra push from all those who stood behind him.
“I’ve never felt the love like I did with this one,” he said.
Check below for results from the rest of UFC Fight Night 81.
Anthony Pettis, right, exchanges blows with Eddie Alvarez in their mixed martial arts bout at UFC Fight Night 81, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, in Boston. Alvarez won via split decision.
Eddie Alvarez called for a title shot against the winner of the UFC 197 main event between Rafael dos Anjos and Conor McGregor. It’s hard to dispute that the former Bellator champion deserves it after he beat Anthony Pettis via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).
Two inadvertent eye pokes by Travis Browne changed the complexion of his heavyweight fight against Matt Mitrione. Browne rallied after losing the first round to beat Mitrione via TKO at 4:09 of the third round.
Francisco Trinaldo defeated Ross Pearson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a lightweight bout. The slight underdog Trinaldo was able to outstrike Pearson en route to winning his fifth straight bout.
Patrick Cote put on a Muay Thai clinic at the expense of fellow veteran welterweight Ben Saunders. Cote finished Saunders via TKO at 1:14 of the second round.
Ed Herman knocked out Tim Boetsch via TKO at 1:39 of the second round in a light heavyweight bout. Herman pulled the upset when he landed a knee flush to Boetsch’s face.
Chris Wade validated his status as a rising lightweight prospect with his fourth consecutive victory since signing with the UFC. Wade submitted Mehdi Baghdad via rear-naked choke at 4:30 of the first round.
Luke Sanders submitted Maximo Blanco via rear-naked at 3:38 of the first round in their lightweight bout.
For the third straight fight, lightweight veteran Daron Cruickshank lost to the same method. Paul Felder pulled off the rear-naked choke this time, submitting Cruickshank at 3:56 of the third round.
Ilir Latifi had the Knockout of the Night, or at least, the fastest knockout of the night. Latifi knocked out Sean O’Connell 30 seconds into the first round of a light heavyweight bout.
Charles Rosa defeated Kyle Bochniak by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in a featherweight bout.
Rob Font beat Joey Gomez via TKO at 4:13 of the first round in a bantamweight bout between two Boston natives.
Francimar Barroso controlled the action against Elvia Mutapcic in the light heavyweight opener, claiming a unanimous-decision win (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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