UFC Boston: SportsJOE picks the winners so you don’t have to

Will Dominick Cruz be able to win back the belt he never lost by dethroning TJ Dillashaw?

UFC Boston features a doozy of a main event with perhaps the most intriguing bantamweight contest ever. Former champion Dominick Cruz returns for only his second contest after relinquishing his belt due to injury-induced inactivity as he takes on TJ Dillashaw for the 135 lb strap.

A tantalising scrap between former lightweight king Anthony Pettis and former Bellator champion Eddie Alvarez will serve as the co-main.

We rolled the records back to zero for 2016 and after the first event of the year our MMA writers’ records look like this:

Darragh The Quizmaster Murphy: 4-2  

Bourbon Ben Kiely: 3-3 

TJ Dillashaw (12-2) v Dominick Cruz (20-1)

DM: This all comes down to how good Dom’s surgeon is.

For my money, a Cruz in his prime beats Dillashaw all ends up but how much have the surgeries, lay-offs and rehabs taken out of him?

I’ve never seen a better bantamweight fighter than Dominick Cruz and he’s more than a little bit in Dillashaw’s head, holed up along other distractions like Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male.

Technically speaking, there’s not a harder-to-hit competitor than Cruz and if he has Dillashaw wound up already then the fight will play right into his counter-punching strategy.

Cruz by decision

BK: While Cruz was away from fighting through injury, we discovered that he is an incredible analyst of the game. His reputation as an analyst made believe that the trash talk he aimed at Dillashaw during that cringe-worthy Counterpunch interview was true.

People harp on about Cruz being the original, while Dillashaw is the new breed who perfected the pioneer’s style but really, the two warriors are very different in how they approach fighting. Although they both use a lot of lateral movement and mesmerising footwork, Cruz does it to avoid strikes while countering with punches and takedowns. Dillashaw utilises his dancing feet to set up the kill.

Dillashaw has never faced a target as mobile as Cruz (and vice versa) and I feel that this could play into the more defensively-minded athletes hands.

Cruz via TKO (round four)

Anthony Pettis (18-3) v Eddie Alvarez (26-4)

DM: The way to beat Pettis is with relentless pressure and tireless output. I don’t think Alvarez has that in his arsenal and in an out-and-out striking battle, Pettis clearly has the edge here.

Looking at skill-sets, the only area that I give Alvarez an advantage is in the wrestling stakes but Pettis is better off his back than he’s given credit for.

I love Alvarez but I don’t see him getting the job done.

Pettis via TKO (round two)

BK: Two risk-taking strikes with oodles of flair and they place it as a co-main event of a Fight Night? What an absolute waste! This match-up deserves to be a five-rounder.

Alvarez leaves himself a little too open in pursuit of the coup de grace for my liking so I’m going to go for the slightly safer bet with Pettis.

Pettis via submission (round three)

Travis Browne (17-3-1) v Matt Mitrione (9-4)

DM: If this descends into the kind of brawl that gave Browne his last loss then Mitrione has every chance of causing the upset.

But surely ‘Hapa’ won’t be foolish enough to accept a strike-for-strike bout. He has to be more intelligent than that, doesn’t he?

Typically, Mitrione has struggled most against bigger heavyweights and there are few rangier guys than Browne in the division.

I think Browne has the striking proficiency to pick ‘Meathead’ apart from the outside and grind out a decision… but I don’t think it will be all that exciting.

Browne by decision

BK: Heavyweight duels between mid-ranking fighters are always a coin toss. One punch can change… yada yada yada. Browne’s faced the tougher competition and arguably has a higher fight IQ (and general IQ) than “Meathead”.

Big fan of Mitrione as athletic heavyweights are a rarity, but his performance against Rothwell shows he still lacks that snap decision making ability to become truly elite.

That being said, I really hope he surprises me.

Browne via TKO (round two)

Ross Pearson (18-9-1NC) v Francisco Trinaldo (18-4)

DM: Pearson’s boxing is amazing, if you’re in or around his height.

Luckily for him, Trinaldo is and I don’t think Trinaldo has the tools to further worsen the Brit’s relatively unimpressive record.

Pearson always brings it, Trinaldo’s approaching his 38th birthday and I just see one of Pearson’s ripping hooks leading to the end here.

Pearson via KO (round two)

BK: Pearson’s the more technical striker, although his tendency to start slow is a bit of a concern. If he can avoid getting tagged early, he should get the victory.

The bout isn’t taking place in Brazil anyway so even if he loses the fight, there’s not much chance of him getting the nod from the judges, am I right, Norman Parke?

Pearson via decision