Dominick Cruz lived up to his nick name of “The Dominator” at UFC 199.

UFC 199 had it’s fair share of shocking surprises, the main event being chief among them. I would have never thought that Michael Bisping would defeat Luke Rockhold by KO in the first round of their Middleweight title fight. But hey, that’s what makes MMA so exciting in the first place. You never can tell what will happen on any given night. Bisping shut down all the disbelievers and is now the UFC Middleweight champion, something that still feels strange to say and write. But there it is. Besides Bisping’s shocking win however was something equally as surprising: Dominick Cruz’s absolute destruction of Urijah Faber. The co-main event was exciting if not one-sided. From the first bell it was apparent that MMA fans would be in for a treat, an exciting back and forth battle was looking to be in the cards. But instead the fans got something else entirely. What they got was a masterclass in movement, counters, and wrestling, and everything else that makes MMA so unpredictable and fun. Cruz looked to prove who was the better man in this fight and he did so by not only winning every round against Faber, but hurting the former WEC Featherweight champ on several different occassions. Why was it so shocking to see? Well, however you want to slice it, the two fights in which Dominick Cruz did battle with Urijah Faber, Cruz was unable to truly hurt Faber. All of that changed with a switch to the southpaw stance and thunderous overhand left that floored Faber, a man known for being tough as nails. Not even Frankie Edgar was able to mount such a dominant performance against “The California Kid.” The knock on Dominick Cruz is that he always dances around, never looks to hurt his opponents, that he’s a point fighter. The reality is however is that Cruz has always had finishing instincts, but every opponent at the top are considerably hard to finish. What his win demonstrated on Saturday is that he’s not only sharpened his tools to a fine edge, but that he could be getting even more dangerous than he ever was. That spells trouble for the Bantamweight Division. If Cruz is able to put on increasingly impressive performances in each consecutive fight then it wouldn’t be unfair to name Cruz as the potential greatest Bantamweight of all time. Cruz’s name will likely be rising in that pound for pound conversation this week and with a bevvy of challengers waiting for their shot at the title, the champion has his work cut out for him. But something tells me that he’s going to do just fine against any adversary that comes his way. What did you think of Dominick Cruz’s performance? Follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Also, be sure to share, like, and comment to show your support.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.