Dominick Cruz says Cormier has tall task to overcome at UFC 192
When then-champion Jon Jones defended the light heavyweight championship against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 in Toronto in 2013, much of the marketing centered around Gustafsson's height advantage.
The 6-4 Jones had run roughshod through some of the best competition in the history of the division, and few were seriously giving the 6-5 Gustafsson much of a chance. And so when the UFC played up the difference in height, fans and media alike scoffed.
But it took everything in Jones' power to win a decision that night in a fight that was much more difficult than expected. And that came even though Jones only gave up one inch in height and enjoyed a five-inch edge in reach.
On Saturday at UFC 192 at the Toyota Center in Houston, reigning light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier will make the first defense of the belt he won in May when he meets Gustafsson. And this time, the 5-11 Cormier will give away six inches in height and seven inches in reach to the Swedish challenger.
"The height and range is a factor," Cormier told Yahoo Sports. "Obviously, it's a factor. Those big guys like that, they feel different: The way they balance. The way their bodies feel when you're clinching. The way they feel when you're on the ground. They feel different."
Cormier is better than a 2-1 favorite to defeat Gustafsson and retain his title, but former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, now a Fox Sports MMA analyst, said Gustafsson's reach is a serious advantage.
Cruz said his own fights showed how much range make a difference in a bout.
"I'm not trying to toot my own horn at all," Cruz told Yahoo Sports, "but if you look at my fights, I've faced a lot of short wrestlers. I had the kind of height and reach advantage Alexander Gustafsson will in this fight. With that being said, I've been able to use the range and the rhythm of things to make it a tough fight for wrestlers. I believe that Alex can make those same adjustments I've made in the past.
"On paper, those wrestlers were always better wrestlers than me. But I figured out a way to beat them and outwrestle them and outstrike them. I understand the fundaments of striking range, offsetting my angles so they don't have a shot, setting my angles so I have offense and they're walking into my offense instead of creating their own."
Cruz said Gustafsson's jab and footwork will be a problem for Cormier, and he'll need to find a way to get inside the jab in order to exploit Gustafsson's weaknesses.
Cormier, who before his fight against Jones said he needed to use a lot of head movement and wing punches as he was on his way in, believes he'll be able to do it.
Cruz said Cormier can do it, but that it won't be easy.
"The truth never changes and this is body mechanics we're talking about," Cruz said. "If you look at the body mechanics for D.C., they never lie. He has to get an underhook, he has to get a clinch and he has to put Alex on the cage at least once in each round."
Former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield always said, "Styles make fights," and it is no different in MMA.
Oddsmakers are favoring Cormier by a significant margin, but Cruz urged caution for those who think Cormier is going to romp to victory.
"D.C. has a championship mindset, but the size is a significant issue in this fight," Cruz said. "Size matters. It really does. And it creates a lot of problems D.C. is going to have to be able to solve to do what he needs to do."
