Cruz comes back in february


  1. Flound Well-Known Member

    I do.
  2. DeMo Member

    that was a long time ago before I started watching MMA so I'm not sure what exactly happened in his scenario
  3. Reckin007 Well-Known Member

    Really? They knew Mir was going to be gone for a long long time....if he was ever going to come back. Cruz had a nasty leg injury...and I think he was expected back after only 9 months. There's no way they could predict setbacks.
  4. Spidy Well-Known Member

    Unless Cruz loses or retires, how could you not consider him the champ? Kinda falls In the P4P/Goat/ Who would win if Fighter A fought Fighter B from different Eras Category. One Great Big ' What If?' '. It really is that simple
  5. Flound Well-Known Member

    Yup, thought it was BS.
    Accident in Sept 2004.

    In August 2005, they found out Mir wasn't going to make an October fight. They stripped him. He fought in February, 3 months after that October fight.
  6. Reckin007 Well-Known Member

    Well he already lost to Faber...then he beat Faber....and he beat a few guys who are now fighting at 125. Cruz still has a lot to prove considering he's only 27 and had only 2 UFC fights. I certainly don't consider him as some unstoppable/unbeatable champ. Especially now that Barao is around.
  7. Reckin007 Well-Known Member

    Well a few factors...1..he was missing a set interim heavyweight title fight. In this case I think the division mattered. 2 He had already missed 12 months and if he pulled out at that point...perhaps they really didn't know when he'd be ready.

    Maybe they learned their lesson with Cruz...while it seems like forever ago, we're only at the 15 month mark and he only missed 2 fights total. Plus while he only had 2 UFC fights, he's been in the WEC for a long time..and hadn't lost in awhile. Mir was only on a 3 fight win streak when he beat Sylvia so taking the title from him wasn't necessarily as big a deal as taking it from Cruz who had 4 title defenses.
  8. Spidy Well-Known Member

    All good points, but still doesn't change the fact that he is the current UFC BW Champion. By no means do I think that Barao will not be his toughest test to date. And that's before all the issues with the knee, but until its a foregone conclusion and Barao's hand is raised and he's got the 'real' belt wrapped around his waist, its all just supposition. No?
  9. Flound Well-Known Member

    I'm aware he was out 11 months already at that point, but the Arlovski fight was 3 months from then. Enough time for a replacement to be found for an interim title.

    It was money that drove that decision, imo, not the chance Mir was gone for good. I seem to recall the injury being bad, but recoverable. Back then, cash was tight with Zuffa and a HW title fight meant a good draw and therefore, cash. HW fights are like that - we love to see big men bang.

    Mir was a victim of circumstances in my view.
    Spidy likes this.
  10. CopperHeart Well-Known Member

    I'd say a year and a half is more than plenty. There's no point to being a champion if you don't defend. What if Barão gets hurt for a long time too? Do we crate an interim-interim belt?
  11. CopperHeart Well-Known Member

    Wrongo Bongo.
    We're at past the 22-month mark.
  12. Reckin007 Well-Known Member

    Well sorry...may 2012 - august 2013 is about 15 months according to my calculations.
  13. CopperHeart Well-Known Member

    Aren't we talking about Cruz? He last fought on October 2011.
  14. Flound Well-Known Member

    As long as the champion is working toward coming back, time limits have no place.

    Why you're not defending is the crux. A champ losing his belt because of a recoverable injury is bologna.

    I know I wouldn't want a belt unless I beat the actual champ.
  15. CopperHeart Well-Known Member

    Mir was recovering from a leg injury and he got stripped.
  16. CopperHeart Well-Known Member

    Furthermore, Cruz was averaging 3 fights per year leading up to his last fight. So he's missed around 5 possible fights.
  17. Flound Well-Known Member

    Cruz didn't get injured until May of 2012 after the UFC made him coach a TUF season and pushed back any chance of a title defense in a reasonable time frame.

    Penalizing a guy for doing what you asked him to do, retroactively, I might add is a bit specious and is reason why the UFC isn;t talking stripping him.

    And yes, using Oct is a lousy metric.
  18. Flound Well-Known Member

    I know, we just talked about that. I think I even indicated I thought it was bulls---.

    As a precedent I think it stinks.
  19. CopperHeart Well-Known Member

    OK, by your logic then he missed 3 to 4 possible fights then, considering his previous pace.
  20. CopperHeart Well-Known Member

    I don't mean to use "then" twice in the same sentence, but the Edit window is coming up blank. Sorry about that.
    TapEmOut likes this.

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