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Steemsports presents: UFC 207- Dominick Cruz vs Cody Garbrandt

World Bantamweight Championship

The 135 pound title is up for grabs as two dynamos battle for possession! An undefeated young gun with the division's heaviest hands will take on martial arts' most elusive champion.

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UFC Embeded with Weigh-in Highlights

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Fight Breakdown: Inside the Octagon

WIN - LOSS - DRAW

Dominick Cruz	21 - 1 - 0
Cody Garbrandt	10 - 0 - 0

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Fighter Profile: Dominick Cruz

Dominick 'The Dominator' Cruz is the current UFC bantamweight champion and arguably top three pound for pound in the world. He is a product of the Alliance camp in San Diego, and has always harbored ill will towards a camp more North in the California Basin....Team Alpha Male. This 'beef' has transcended martial arts as the rivalry has become more a laundry list of names Cruz has taken out more than anything.

From top contenders and former champions in Benavidez and Faber, no man has truly been able to solve the complexity of Dominick's game. He is a true phantom in the octagon; Cruz's footwork and evasion techniques are completely his own...he has mastered his own game within MMA. He is practically un-hittable as less than 30% of his opponents strikes land, these are all 25-minute champion fights against top contenders of the time (just to note). Urijah Faber's retirement fight last week showed he can still put the beat down on top 10 fighters, and Dominic's dismantling of Faber shows he is still leagues above the rest.

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Fighter Profile: Cody Garbrandt

Cody 'No Love' Garbrandt is the admittedly brash and undefeated bantamweight fighting out of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. He has taken this title fight personally as none of his former camp mates have been able to conquer his upcoming opponent. The 25-year-old prospect is coming off three first round finishes all by strikes, his obliteration of 10-0 prospect Thomas Almeida was his best performance yet...and he showed fans and analysts alike that he is the real dark horse of 135 pounds.

Cody will need to implement his chaotic flurries and strong forward punching combinations to force Cruz into a fight, and make him taste the power. As unhittable as Cruz is, Cody is fast and powerful and will be the youngest contender Cruz has faced. 'No Love' is incredibly headstrong and will approach with every passing second, his will retain octagon control like a lion and beg for a brawl.

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The Matchup

This is an excellent title fight which treats us to a true clash of style. The intangibles of aggression, heart and evasion of both fighters will truly be highlighted here. Cruz has shown the ability to dodge most every punch thrown at him, but he has taken hard shots in the past and been known to break his hands early in fights. Cody is a nonstop force of violence, but he has never been pushed past round three and he has never faced a top 5 opponent.

The youth and power of 'No Love' will collide with the ghost like footwork of the 'Dominator', Cruz is also a master of angling off the fence and countering where Cody thrives in the midst of throwing heat. Whoever forces their game plan will win this fight. Cruz will be weary of the division's heaviest hands for 25 minutes, and Cody needs to know he is in there with a phantom, he can not punch himself out against air or he will lose. Youth and power vs experience and intelligence...these are the fights that we live for!

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Prediction

Cody Garbrandt is youthful, and powerful young man who can end this title fight with a single blow. If he can stagger the champion he will be able to capitalize effectively and finish this fight because he is an absolute killer...but catching the champ won't be easy. Dominick Cruz is truly a phantom in the cage, he can easily outpace an opponent for 25 minutes with a variety of offensive techniques. Mixing up seamless, non telegraphed takedowns and masterfully staying off the fence against the heavy handed newcomer will rack up another win on Cruz's legendary record.

I would recommend looking into the over 2.5 rounds prop as Cody has shown to be a late finisher among higher level opponents, and a Cruz win will most likely come to decision. I lean towards the current reigning champion in Dominick Cruz to outpace and win a dominant decision over the durable, yet green newcomer.

Dominick Cruz by Unanimous Decision.

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Predictions

UFC on FOX Presenters

Kamikaze Overdrive MMA

Brandonk

Odds

Cruz(fav)	Garbrandt
-225	+185
1.44	2.85
4/9	37/20

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Pay Plays

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Disclaimer: While our web-app does not store your Steem active key in the browser or in cookies or in any way at all, it may be best to seed a secondary account with the exact amount you wish to PLAY and use that to enter the game.

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Presenter: @brandonk

Editor: @cryptoiskey

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Fists Fly | Submit votes by:

December 30th, 10:00PM/7:00PM ETPT

December 31st, 3:00AM UTC

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