T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz fought to a close split decision in their bantamweight title fight at UFC Boston last Saturday. Cruz claimed two scorecards for a 49-46, 46-49 and 48-47 decision.
After three extremely close rounds, Dillashaw seemed to gain some momentum and land the bigger shots as the fight went on. However, the judges saw it differently and gave the fight and the title to Cruz.
At the event’s post-fight press-conference, Dillashaw later explained that he doesn’t agree with that decision.
“You know, Dominick’s a very good fighter,” he said. “I do feel like I won the fight. You know, just pressure alone and controlling the Octagon and landing bigger strikes. I know he got a few takedowns, but I don’t really feel like they should be scored that great, three seconds control total.” (Transcription via MMA Fighting)
Dillashaw also recognized that he made some mistake, and could have performed better. However, he believes it should have been him who got the decision.
“It’s tough man. It’s a tough one to take. I definitely didn’t perform my best, either. I knew I maybe threw a little too hard…and thinking back on it, yeah, I messed up. But I still, I still think I won that fight.”
It remains unclear whether there will be immediate rematch against Dillashaw or if Cruz will defend his belt against another fighter next. Names such as Raphael Assuncao and Dillashaw’s former mentor Urijah Faber have already been talked about as possible challengers.