Pedro Munhoz pickem vs Dominick Cruz
Fight is at 135 lbs and is +125 to end inside the distance.
Pedro Munhoz has had a rough go of it lately. He has lost three of his last four fights. In fairness, those losses have come against Jose Aldo, Aljamain Sterling and Frankie Edgar. The high end competition speaks for itself. That said, the decision loss against Edgar was an absolutely garbage call by the judges. Munhoz convincingly won that fight.
Don’t Sleep On Munhoz
Munhoz will bring the same skill set he always does. He will throw extremely heavy leg kicks and bring adequate boxing in the stand up. He will generally eat some shots himself, but is quite durable. The leg kicks are the name of the game in the stand up for him. He has a way of truly compromising the lead leg of his opponents, and I think he has a wildly high degree of success in this fight.
Dominick Cruz has only had two fights since 2016. That is important because of the evolution of the calf kick in MMA since that time. In both of his recent fights his leg was kicked 23 times. Anywhere near that figure against Munhoz and we will see his movement stunted or potentially even see the fight stopped. Cruz is a fighter that leans forward and truly sets up to be compromised by the leg being damaged by a kicker like Munhoz.
Gambling Problem? Call or TEXT 1-800-Gambler 21+
The former champ in Cruz brings a complete skill set, just not quite the one he had back in his championship days. He will have a boxing edge in this fight, but very well may find himself too reliant on the takedown. It is important to note, Cruz has not won a fight without a takedown since 2008!! It speaks to his ability to get the fight down, but it also puts him in a compromised position in this matchup. Munhoz has the best guillotine in MMA, bar none. Since his last guillotine win against Rob Font in 2017, Munhoz has been taken down just three times across 22 rounds.
It will be interesting to see if Cruz opts to stick his neck in danger, particularly knowing Munhoz will be able to get up straight away if the takedown succeeds. Moreover, the question will remain whether Cruz has a choice once the lead leg is compromised.
What To Bet
I think the leg kicks in conjunction with the answers Munhoz has for wrestling and grappling give him a big edge in this pickem spot. We will take Munhoz on the -110 flat line.
Betting Pick: Munhoz -110
Gambling Problem? Call or TEXT 1-800-Gambler 21+
Pedro Munhoz vs Dominick Cruz Prediction.