Cruz is a lot bigger and he's developed power since his time off. I think Cruz will be able to see through TJs dancing footwork and fence that jab into his face when Dillashaw blitzes forward.
Cruz also has a more diversified kicking game and Dillashaw, already at a reach disadvantage, likes to stick to only round kicks, and he only throws them occasionally, although sverytime he does they only miss by a hair (talking head kicks). I'd give Dillashaw the speed and possibly power advantage but Cruz has better timing and you really don't need power when someone like Dillashaw is running into your punch.
Cruz imo is the more technical striker but TJ has more athletic abilities. If I had to pick someone it'd be Cruz but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Dillashaw beat his ass 
When it comes to fight I. Q. It goes to Dom and he has a champion mentality as well. He also has reach. It would be a damn good fight.
Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that, while it is a fight that I would love to see and needs to happen, the fight will most likely be pretty boring with little action?
duckhuntgangsta - When it comes to fight I. Q. It goes to Dom and he has a champion mentality as well. He also has reach. It would be a damn good fight.Although Wikipedia is not 100% accurate all the time, but it has them at both 68 inch reach
The biggest difference between Cruz and TJ is that Bang Ludwig has closed up TJs footwork. What I mean by that is he can throw anything from anywhere because he largely stays planted and his centre of gravity is directly below him.
That's a bad thing for TJ. Why? Because it can be predicted if you know what you're looking at - being able to react is another story, but yes, you have a fair idea of what's coming next.
Cruz mastered that and moved on. What he does is a delight to watch. His movement can't be predicted for the simple fact that you can't tell where is centre of gravity is. He's incredibly light on his feet and using that he baits you into thinking he's going to move somewhere he won't. He doesn't hit as hard, but he has all the time in the world to react to whatever you can throw.
In addition to that, he's fitter. He can keep his pace up for five rounds, see the Mighty Mouse fight. TJ can't do that, his footwork starts to fade midway into the second. Against Cruz that's a death sentence. 
Cruz has what I can only call a bobble torso. Work's great for him though
Cruz is done
Blackout Cruz takes it. He understands the game TJ is playing...With the footwork and feints...I think he out points him... He approaches it a little different but TJ found success in a style or approach that Cruz created. It's not going to be foreign to him like barao
If his knees are up for the fight it will be incredible. He can bang with TJ but his movement isn't matched. Would love to see it, if his are good. Don't wanna see a hobbled Cruz get crumbled.
Cruz has the better footwork, uses his favorite kneetap takedowns, and enters and exits on unpredictable angles, at a very fast pace, non-stop; Cruz is the master of his techniques and mixes it up more than TJ.
TJ borrowed Dom's footwork and worked on it for 1.5 years to use against Barao. His new adapted style won't work on Dom.
This fight goes to the scorecards but it will be clear who the master is.
I'd take TJ. He looked so fucking good last night. He just looks better every time we see him in the octagon.
Cruz doesn't often finish fights and has been recovering from injuries for a long time.
Competitive fight whoever wins and I hope Cruz is healthy enough to make it happen. Outside of Cruz the rest of the division is too shallow to pose much of a threat to TJ imo.
Ziga - He is very top heavy, meaning he starts his movements with his upper body. TJ is much smoother, everything starts from the legs, so he's always in position to attack.Agreed. He seems off balance a fair bit when avoiding strikes
While Cruz leaves himself disconected from the ground when moving/evading, which is why he doesn't generate much power.
I'm not sure where I'm leaning on this one at the moment, but I think one thing people are underestimating is the superiority of Cruz' MMA grappling. One of the most impressive features of Cruz' footwork is the way he uses it to seamlessly transition from striking to grappling sequences and facilitate his offensive wrestling.
Conversely I don't think TJ has managed to translate his wrestling pedigree into his MMA game and he doesn't use his new found footwork to set up takedowns well at all.
Faber was able to drop Cruz 2 or 3 times the last time they fought.
TJ is waaaaaaaaay better than Faber.
When did TJ adopt cruzs philosophy of staying light on toes with feints and stance changes.... I think he had to emulate him for so many camps during Uriahs fights he took it and ran... But correct me if I'm wrong but Barao 1 was first time we saw him move like that right?
Bucho - Faber was able to drop Cruz 2 or 3 times the last time they fought.
TJ is waaaaaaaaay better than Faber.
This is my main focus as well.
Cruz showed himself better than Faber, but not by much. Lots of close rounds.
TJ is a level above Faber. I think TJ's power will be the difference.
Frankly even though Barso's stock is very low right now, I still think him vs. Cruz is a close fight because he wouldn't have to worry as much about Cruz's power. TJ was able to rock Barao many times and I don't think Cruz can do that.
The main worry for me with TJ would be cardio. He does have excellent cardio - but Cruz is one of the cardio GOATs. TJ slows down, he's human. Cruz has inhuman cardio. If he has any edges, I'd say they are: evasiveness and cardio.
Who is this Dominick Cruz creature you speak of OP?
Should have watched 6 man. That's the magic number.
Really though. It's a delusion to think Cruz has nothing for TJ. Don't get me wrong. TJ is a great fighter. But there's a reason Cruz was the king of thay division.
Ziga - He is very top heavy, meaning he starts his movements with his upper body. TJ is much smoother, everything starts from the legs, so he's always in position to attack.Good analysis.
While Cruz leaves himself disconected from the ground when moving/evading, which is why he doesn't generate much power.
I rewatched his last fight against mizugaki. The reason he won was because of the well timed takedown and relentless groundNlb (ha ha, I had to)
If you watch the striking match in the beginning, it was fairy even. He was not winning the striking match. Not clearly anyway.
I think TJ wins with striking and that his wrestling will be good enough to keep it standing.