Cruz: Johnson Deserved Decision Over Torres
Brian Knapp Oct 1, 2011
UFC bantamweight champion Dominick
Cruz will defend his title against Demetrious
Johnson(Pictured) in the UFC
Live 6 headliner on Saturday in Washington, D.C. During a
pre-fight teleconference to promote the event, the champion weighed
in on Johnson’s controversial victory over former 135-pound kingpin
Miguel
Torres at UFC 130 in May:
“I honestly watched that fight because of the debate; there was such a debate about it. My opinion on the whole matter is Miguel Torres did not want to be on his back -- period. Nobody wants to fight off of their back. He has a good guard, but when he tried to use it, he didn’t get the submission. Everybody knows in jiu-jitsu you can try for a million submissions, but they don’t count unless you get them. He didn’t finish Demetrious on the ground, which is what he was expecting to be able to do. Demetrious wanted to put him on his back, and [he] put him on his back. In my opinion, Demetrious controlled the fight. It was a close fight. The judges could have scored it either way, but I could see how they scored it in Demetrious’ favor, because he controlled the fight in [that] he kept Miguel Torres on his back and he kept the fight where he wanted to keep it. He was comfortable there. You’ve got to understand the way judges are scoring cards these days. If you’re not going to get the finish, then you’ve got to understand, ‘OK, I’m not able to submit this guy.’ He should have made an adjustment in the second round: ‘Man, this guy’s hard to catch; he’s hard to submit. I need to use my jiu-jitsu to get back up to my feet, so that I can try and make this a closer fight standing.’ You’ve got to make adjustments throughout the fight to figure out a way to win. I feel that Miguel Torres was OK with being on his back thinking he was going to get the finish. He didn’t get the finish on the ground, so he lost a decision. That’s kind of the way the cookie crumbles. You’ve got to be aware of where you’re at on the scorecards.”
“I honestly watched that fight because of the debate; there was such a debate about it. My opinion on the whole matter is Miguel Torres did not want to be on his back -- period. Nobody wants to fight off of their back. He has a good guard, but when he tried to use it, he didn’t get the submission. Everybody knows in jiu-jitsu you can try for a million submissions, but they don’t count unless you get them. He didn’t finish Demetrious on the ground, which is what he was expecting to be able to do. Demetrious wanted to put him on his back, and [he] put him on his back. In my opinion, Demetrious controlled the fight. It was a close fight. The judges could have scored it either way, but I could see how they scored it in Demetrious’ favor, because he controlled the fight in [that] he kept Miguel Torres on his back and he kept the fight where he wanted to keep it. He was comfortable there. You’ve got to understand the way judges are scoring cards these days. If you’re not going to get the finish, then you’ve got to understand, ‘OK, I’m not able to submit this guy.’ He should have made an adjustment in the second round: ‘Man, this guy’s hard to catch; he’s hard to submit. I need to use my jiu-jitsu to get back up to my feet, so that I can try and make this a closer fight standing.’ You’ve got to make adjustments throughout the fight to figure out a way to win. I feel that Miguel Torres was OK with being on his back thinking he was going to get the finish. He didn’t get the finish on the ground, so he lost a decision. That’s kind of the way the cookie crumbles. You’ve got to be aware of where you’re at on the scorecards.”
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