Bully Beatdown S03 E12 Michael "all-American badass" VS. Daron Cruickshank

Daron Cruickshank vs. James Krause set for UFC on FOX 16 in Chicago

A pair of exciting lightweights will meet on big FOX.

Daron Cruickshank will take on James Krause at UFC on FOX 16 on July 25 in Chicago, the UFC announced Friday.

Cruickshank (16-6, 1 NC) missed weight in his last fight and ended up falling to Beneil Dariush at UFC 185 on March 14 in Dallas. Before that, "The Detroit Superstar" was beating K.J. Noons at the Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale in December before getting poked in the eye. The bout was ruled a no contest. Overall, the highlight reel-producing Cruickshank, 29, is 6-4-1 in his UFC career.

Krause (21-7) has lost two straight and coming off a close split decision defeat againstValmir Lazaro at UFC 184 on Feb. 28 in Los Angeles. The former WEC and RFA fighter won two of his first three bouts in the UFC before falling in his last two. Krause, 28, has been a pro since 2007 and is a two-time UFC bonus winner.

UFC on FOX 16 is headlined by a bantamweight title shot between champion T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao. The co-main event pits former lightweight championAnthony Pettis against Myles Jury. Also set for United Center is a women's bantamweight title eliminator between Miesha Tate and Jessica Eye.

Source: MMAFighting.com

Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush lightweight bout added to UFC 185 in Dallas

Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush lightweight bout added to UFC 185 in Dallas

The lineup for the UFC’s return to Dallas continues to grow with the addition of a lightweight scrap.

Daron Cruickshank (16-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) will meet Beneil Dariush (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC 185 in March. UFC officials announced the new bout today.

Featuring a lightweight title fight between champ Anthony Pettis and challenger Rafael dos Anjos, UFC 185 takes place on March 14 at Dallas’ American Airlines Center. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Cruickshank was in a “Fight of the Night” candidate against K.J. Noons at the TUF 20 Finale. Then he got poked in the eye in the second round and was unable to continue, leaving the bout a no-contest. That came on the heels of a decision win over Anthony Njokuani.

Dariush has won back-to-back fights following the first loss of his pro career nine months ago. Dariush made a short-notice UFC debut a year ago Wednesday and submitted Charlie Brenneman in the first round at UFC Fight Night 35. But three months later, he was stopped by Ramsey Nijem in Abu Dhabi. Since then, though, he has a submission win over Tony Martin and a decision win over Carlos Diego Ferreira.

With the addition to the card, UFC 185 now includes:

• Champ Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael dos Anjos – for UFC lightweight title
• Champ Carla Esparza vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for UFC strawweight title
• Roy Nelson vs. Alistair Overeem
• Matt Brown vs. Johny Hendricks
• Chris Cariaso vs. Henry Cejudo
• Ross Pearson vs. Sam Stout
• Ryan Benoit vs. Sergio Pettis
• Roger Narvaez vs. Elias Theodorou
• Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush

For more on UFC 185, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Source: MMAJunkie.com

DARON CRUICKSHANK UNDERGOES SURGERY FOR TORN DUCT AFTER TUF 20 FINALE

DARON CRUICKSHANK UNDERGOES SURGERY FOR TORN DUCT AFTER TUF 20 FINALE

The fight between Daron Cruickshank and KJ Noons was only five minutes old before it was stopped at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale on Friday night in Las Vegas.

Twenty-five seconds into the second round, the fight was halted and waved off when Cruickshank was unable to continue after getting accidentally poked in the eye. Due to its brevity and the accidental nature of the stoppage, the fight was ruled a no contest.

SEE ALSO: TUF 20 Finale Fighter Salaries

Later that night, Cruickshank was diagnosed with a torn duct in his left eye, an injury that necessitated surgery. He underwent that surgery on Saturday.

His public relations representative, Amanda Earley, told MMAWeekly.com that “the procedure was routine and optimal results were expected.”

An exact timeframe for Cruickshank’s recovery wasn’t given, as he was traveling home to Detroit on Monday.

Source: mmaweekly.com

TUF 20 Finale results: Eye pokes lead to no-contest for Daron Cruickshank, K.J. Noons

Eye Pokes Lead to No-Contest

LAS VEGAS – A pair of eye pokes halted a bout between strikers Daron Cruickshank and K.J. Noons that was shaping up as a “Fight of the Night” affair before fouls intervened.

Referee John McCarthy waved off the fight at the 0:25 mark of the second when Cruickshank (16-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who was poked in the eye by Noons (13-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC) in both the first and second rounds, could not continue.

The lightweight bout was part of the main card of today’s TUF 20 Finale event at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. It aired on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

McCarthy did not catch the second foul and called in a cageside doctor to examine Cruickshank. The referee gave him plenty of time to recover, but Cruickshank said he could no longer look up after the eye poke dropped him to the mat.

Noons had received a warning for poking the eyes in the first round and was advised to close his hand when measuring his range. The onetime boxer’s strategy was to pressure Cruickshank and land shots against the cage. Cruickshank, however, deftly countered and avoided most of the power shots thrown at him.

Cruickshank hoped to end 2014 with a 4-1 record after a decision over Anthony Njokuani in his most recent appearance. Noons, meanwhile, had posted back-to-back wins, including a “Performance of the Night” KO of Sam Stout in his most recent appearance.

Source: MMAJunkie.com

Daron Cruickshank to get Surgery

Daron Cruickshank to get surgery; Dana White wants tougher eye-poke penalties

LAS VEGAS – UFC lightweight Daron Cruickshank needs surgery for a tear under his eyelid after his bout with K.J. Noons ended in a no contest, according to UFC President Dana White.

“I don’t know if they have to go under (the eye) or what’s wrong with it,” White told MMAjunkie at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale, where Cruickshank and Noons met on the FOX Sports 1-televised main card. “The doctor said it doesn’t look like there was any damage to the eyeball, but he has some special equipment where he can see better, so (the doctor) is waiting to look at (Cruickshank’s) eye with that equipment.”

Soon after the result, Cruickshank (16-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) took a picture of his bloodshot left eye and posted it on Twitter, writing that he had a torn tear duct. He also requested a rematch with Noons (13-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

White wasn’t opposed to that idea, but said the promotion would see how things shake out. Firstly, Cruickshank needs to recover, though White anticipated his layoff wouldn’t be that long.

“Right now, it just looks like he needs surgery to sew up the tear on the bottom half of the eyelid,” he said. “Hopefully, there’s no damage to the eye.”

The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale took place at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Before he could be asked by reporters, White already had an answer for curtailing the eyepokes that have become a frequent occurrence in the octagon over the past few years. The way to keep fighters from eyepokes in close quarters combat, he said, was to increase enforcement of the foul.

“I don’t know what to do about eyepokes other than the refs telling them to close their hands,” he said. “And there has to be harsher penalties. If you poke a guy in the eye, you lose the round, or something like that. There has to be harsher penalties. It will make guys and girls keep their hands closed.”

John McCarthy, who oversaw the lightweight bout, did warn Noons after he accidentally poked Cruickshank in the first round. He did so again in the second after another poke put Cruickshank on the mat, but by then, the damage was so great that Cruickshank could not see upward, and the cageside physician recommended the bout be stopped.

Before the unceremonious end, Noons and Cruickshank were fighting a spirited kickboxing bout. MMAjunkie scored the first frame for Cruickshank, who this year had gone 3-1 in the octagon.

For complete coverage of The Ultimate Fighter Finale 20, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

Source: MMAJunkie.com

UFC Fight Night 54 results: Daron Cruickshank Dominates Anthony Njokuani for decision

Daron Cruickshank for the Win!

HALIFAX – In a battle of two deft strikers, Daron Cruickshank was willing to seize openings where Anthony Njokuani wasn’t.

Over three rounds, Cruickshank (16-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) kept Njokuani (16-9 MMA, 3-5 UFC) from settling in and kept him off balance by mixing wrestling with striking in a unanimous decision.

The lightweight bout closed out the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 54 event at Halifax Metro Centre in Nova Scotia, Canada. It aired on FOX Sports 2 following additional prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FOX Sports 1.

The final scores were 30-27 thrice for Cruickshank, who got back on the winning track after judges handed him a unanimous decision loss to Jorge Masvidal at UFC on FOX 12 in July. Njokuani dropped to 2-4 in his past six outings and likely faces a pink slip.

Cruickshank played the counter-striking game as Njokuani closed the distance. A stiff leg kick was the former WEC fighter’s best offense, but his combinations were sporadic, while Cruickshank mixed in attacks to the body and spinning attacks. When Njokuani tried to chase down a response, he was put on his back.

In the second frame, Cruickshank even played homage to UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes by carrying Njokuani across the cage and slamming him to the mat. Njokuani was more generous with his combinations, but failed to hurt his opponent.

A last-minute armbar was Njokuani’s last hope, and Cruickshank used it to seal his dominance, nearly pulling off another slam.

“My contract is up in March, so I’m really trying to string together some impressive wins so the UFC can see I’m ready to take that next step up,” Cruickshank said. “My game plan with Anthony was, I know anytime he’s put on the ground, he loses. I’ve never been known as a wrestler, but I think that’s a pretty good part of my game, so I wanted to make Anthony afraid of that. When I got in close, I was able to mix up some different striking and then keep him guessing with my takedown attempts. I’m hoping for a top 15 guy next; I definitely know I’m ready.”