Dominick Cruz made a clean sweep of his trilogy against Urijah Faber at UFC 199, scoring a near perfect 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46 on the judge’s scorecards. The fight was his first defense of his bantamweight title, which he took off T.J. Dillashaw in January after a year and half break due to injuries.
Faber’s best moments were in the first round when he managed to get his hands on the ever elusive Cruz and turn the fight into a grappling match. But even in those exchanges, Cruz managed to get the better of the scrambles and come out in advantageous positions. When Faber picked Cruz up and dropped him on his head in a massive slam, Cruz recovered instantly and ended up on top.
The pace in this fight is INSANE!!!!! #UFC199 #KingdomTV https://t.co/s3FYP7Aznt
— UFC (@ufc) June 5, 2016
By the second half of the fight, an air of inevitability had started to settle over the crowd. Faber was game but had no answer for Cruz, whose movement continued to negate Urijah’s offense the same way it had in their previous two fights.
That’s not to say Dominick Cruz didn’t push the pace and fight hard for the finish. There was a moment in the fourth where Cruz used an awkward double right hook to drop Faber against the cage. He dropped punch after punch on Urijah, ending the exchange with a headkick that glanced off the shoulder. But Faber popped back to his feet and continued on, still game but undoubtedly down another round on the scorecards.
Down goes Faber! The champ trying to finish this fight! #UFC199 #KingdomTV https://t.co/I87lmMtE0R
— UFC (@ufc) June 5, 2016
Through the fight and until the end of the fifth round Cruz continued to attack, throwing vicious kick after vicious kick and winging punches so hard announcers Joe Rogan and Michael Goldberg wondered if he’d broken his fists. It was another dominating performance for the Dominator, and if he manages to stay healthy the 135 pound division is going to have a hard time dethroning him.
