It was billed as the ultimate tactical clash.
Dominick Cruz, undefeated at bantamweight, lost his UFC title outside the Octagon when continual injuries kept him on the shelf for years. While he was out, TJ Dillashaw stepped into the breach and, using a style visibly borrowed from Cruz, turned himself into a buzzsaw and the most formidable bantamweight on the planet.
Both men used the kind of footwork unseen anywhere else in MMA. Cruz originated the style, treating movement just as he did every other facet of the game. Dillashaw, under the wing of coach Duane Ludwig, adapted the best of Cruz's innovations and paired it with outstanding wrestling, striking and a taste for finishing fights.
And then Cruz came back, healthy once more, and the path was clear. Matching Cruz against Dillashaw, innovator against adapter, current champion against the champion who was never beaten for his belt, created a salivating matchup for fans who appreciate the finer things that happen in the cage.
And to top it all off, the thing would be on Fox Sports 1, where anyone with a cable subscription could view it for free, or at least something akin to free. Cruz had a chance to prove that he was still the best in the world, and Dillashaw had the opportunity to show that he'd surpassed the former champion during his time away.
It was the perfect setup. And unlike so many anticipated fights that fall flat in execution, this one lived up to the billing. And then some.
It was razor-thin, the kind of fight that often leads to an immediate rematch. At the end, Cruz stood victorious, regaining his belt after a split-decision win that would have been perfectly acceptable had it gone the other way.
Cruz was as he always is, which is to say he was difficult to hit, darting in and out of Dillashaw's reach as the now-former champion swung wildly. Cruz has always claimed that ring rust is just a myth, and that claim appears to be a fact, at least for him.
But even in the first three rounds, when Cruz was at his best, Dillashaw landed more strikes than anyone had ever landed on Cruz in the past. He missed more than he landed, of course, but even finding his range and peppering Cruz occasionally was something of a win.
In the fourth and fifth frames, Dillashaw found his range and began landing harder strikes. He made Cruz stumble briefly with a nasty right leg kick, and Cruz was a little less mobile after that. Dillashaw's best 10 minutes of the night were in the last two rounds, and when the final bell sounded, it felt like one of those fights that is just nearly impossible to correctly judge.
It was Cruz who scored the split decision, though, and Dillashaw walked away with disappointment on his face. Cruz, the weight of all the injuries and all the years wasted, was jubilant, and rightly so. The end seemed so very near on so many different occasions for Cruz, and yet he endured.
"I was the only one who was going to make me retire," he said to Joe Rogan after the fight.
Dillashaw told Rogan he felt he won the fight, and many onlookers believed he did. A fight with former teammate Urijah Faber is likely down the tubes; it seems logical that if Dillashaw does not receive an immediate rematch, then it will be Cruz who moves on to a third fight with his longtime nemesis.
Cruz gave credit to each of the Team Alpha Male opponents he has beaten over the years, saying they'd made him who he is today by the strength of their own skill.
This was the culmination of a journey that few would ever recover from. It is hard to equate fighting to the endurance of the human spirit, but if there was ever a case study for someone who has been pushed long past the edge and still manages to return, it is Dominick Cruz.
And regardless of where he goes from here or how long he keeps his shiny new belt, what he accomplished in returning to the Octagon at all is something that deserves our highest praise.
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