Cruz: Tempo Paramount in UFC Title Scrap with ‘Grimy’ Jorgensen

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WEC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz fell under some criticism in August following his first title defense. Despite besting challenger Joseph Benavidez over five rounds and walking away with a split decision, some fans and pundits cited Cruz’s “stick-and-move” style as unexciting.

Those people, according to the champ, just don’t know what they’re watching.

“I think people criticize what they don’t understand. I think there’s a lot of things about my style, that I do and I do well, that you can’t really understand unless you know the game plan and the ideas behind it,” Cruz said on a WEC media conference call Tuesday.

Likewise, the 25-year-old Alliance MMA product’s opponents often have a tough time gauging his technique until it’s too late.

“I think people get in there and they fight me, and there are certain things you can’t account for: speed, being hard to cut off, being hard to find. Those are all things you don’t know about somebody until you’re in there fighting them,” Cruz said. “I have a very different style from anybody in MMA right now, and I think that the reason that is, is just I look at the angles and I look at striking, and I look at the fight in a completely different way than a lot of people.”

The next man to try and crack Cruz’s code will be former Pac-10 wrestling champion Scott Jorgensen, who challenges for the strap on Dec. 16 at WEC 53, the promotion’s swan song at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. The winner of that bout will not only keep the WEC title forever, but also be crowned the first UFC 135-pound champion.

“I’m excited that we’re coming over to the UFC and we get to be the very first guys that have ever fought in this division. It’s just an awesome feeling,” said Cruz. “I think it’s definitely gonna be like a legacy that we’ve all started. You hear about Randy Couture, you hear about Royce Gracie and all those guys that started the UFC up. Well, in a sense, that’s kinda the way a lot of us lighter guys have done for the 135- and 145-pound divisions.”

But, before he can think about cementing his legacy in the UFC, Cruz knows he’s got a stern task ahead of him. A winner in five straight contests, the hard-nosed Jorgensen has knocked off such highly-regarded bantamweights as Takeya Mizugaki and Brad Pickett in his most recent run.

“The best way to explain Jorgensen is probably like a grimy fighter. He’s the kind of guy that, when you hit him, he kinda gets more into the fight. As each round goes on, he starts to feel more and more comfortable in the cage,” said Cruz. “He’s got a real ‘in your face’ style. He’s in your face with pressure, with good steady boxing. His hands have gotten a lot quicker over the fights, that’s one thing I’ve noticed.”

“He’s got a wicked guillotine. He’s proved that in all of his fights, pretty much. So guillotine defense is gonna be key,” the champion added.

Asked to outline his keys to victory, Cruz cited many of the hallmarks which have led to his own current six-fight win streak, five of which have come via some form of decision.

“In order for me to win this fight, I just need to do as I’ve done before: dictate the pace of the fight, stay very mobile, very hard to find, and keep a high tempo and a high pace in every aspect. And just mix it up -- high-low, high-low. I can work a lot of ground game and I can take this fight wherever I need to.”

However, Cruz said, don’t be mistaken: he doesn’t relish letting any fight reach the judges’ scorecards.

“I’m in there trying to finish every single fight. I’m in there trying to kill the guy from beginning to end,” he said. “I think everybody that I’ve gone in there with, I’ve rocked or hurt at some point in the fight, without a doubt.”

As for silencing the critics, Cruz remains unconcerned.

“I’ve won a lot of fights this way, so I know what I’m doing. I know what I do right, I know what I do well, and I know I’m very good at it, and that gives me my confidence to continue to fight the way I fight.”