5 Lessons From The Fallout Of UFC 178

5. Dominick Cruz Hasn't Lost A Step - And Should Fight Dillashaw

Everyone had their doubts about how Dominick Cruz would preform upon his return to the UFC. The promotion itself clearly did, and stuck him on the televised prelims rather than on the main card of the PPV event. He drew a favourable match-up in Takeya Mizugaki in the sense that he didn't have to worry too much about being knocked out, but that's really about all we could say was in his favour leading into the fight. That said, we did call for Cruz by split decision going into the fight - but certainly didn't expect a first round knockout! Cruz looked like he hadn't missed a step, and that is fantastic news for a bantamweight division void of stars outside Urijah Faber and new champon T.J. Dillashaw - who will not fight each other since they are team mates. Cruz returning to the mix opens a ton of doors. He just beat a top five opponent and should jump right into the title hunt. You could give him an immediate shot at Dillashaw; after all, Cruz was never beat for his bantamweight belt, he was stripped of it due to injury. Should he win, it sets up a ton of interesting fights, including potentially another title shot for Faber. Should he lose, the UFC can still book the Faber bout (which would be Faber vs. Cruz 3) and given he's still young, if he can manage to stay healthy for a chance, he could have plenty of years left in him to go on a couple of more runs. The UFC needs to book Dillashaw vs. Cruz pronto.