It's no world tour, but the promotion leading up to T.J. Dillashaw's Jan. 17 UFC bantamweight title defense to Dominick Cruz has some similar undertones.
Cruz fired the first major shot when the pair visited Boston, the site of the bout, back in November when he dressed Dillashaw down, called his coach Duane Ludwig a "sad pimp," and still couldn't get the champ to play ball.
Cruz went after Dillashaw again during a moderated sitdown with UFC commentator Jon Anik (watch here) and again seemed to fluster the champ as he tried to pull him into an exchange.
Dillashaw says Cruz is just a WWE poser living in "the McGregor era," but the challenger doesn't see it that way.
"Talking is just talking," Cruz said on UFC Tonight. "The fight is what really matters, but I'm just having fun keeping it real. I wasn't talking trash. I was talking the truth. People are saying I'm talking trash. I wasn't making anything up. I wasn't saying anything foul to the guy. I was just telling him the way it is."
"I just know he's not that bright," Cruz said of Dillashaw. "He's just not the smartest. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. He's kind of a meathead jock is what I learned from that exchange. He just wanted nothing to do with talking. Man, I don't necessarily want to be here talking to your ugly face either, but I'm here so you might as well talk to me.
"But he wouldn't do it. I don't know what's wrong with the guy. We're here. He's like, 'I'm here to fight. I'm not here to talk.' Man, we're here to talk. That's why we're in front of this camera. Why else are we here? If we were here to fight we'd be in the cage already. What's wrong with you? It blew my mind."
LINK: Morning Report: Dominick Cruz takes aim again at 'meathead jock' T.J. Dillashaw
