After more than four years, "The California Kid" will try to do it again.
This time the roles will be reversed. Faber has been working at a 135-pound title shot since he made the decision to drop down from the featherweight division following a pair of title losses to Mike Brown and Jose Aldo, respectively.
So far, he's seen nothing but success, winning both fights in his new weight class: a submission victory over Japanese stalwart Takeya Mizugaki (WEC 52) and a decision win over the venerable Eddie Wineland (UFC 128).
Cruz has the belt, but Faber has the bragging rights.
And as he tells the MMA Fight Corner presented by FiveKnuckles.com, it's time for his nemesis to do some growing up inside the Octagon, and dropping the title may just be a means to an end.
"I just see myself winning. I don't know exactly how yet, but I think in all aspects of the game I'm going to have the upper hand. I'd like to get the finish. I always try to go in there and finish as soon as possible. If he takes me down he's in danger. He stands up he's in danger, so I'm looking forward to a knockdown drag-out and just coming out on top. He's good. He's really good at what he does. He's sticks and moves and he's elusive and comes with different angles and things like that. He's also good at mixing up the takedowns with the punches, but the only time he's fought someone like me is when he fought me, and he lost. I'm on a different level and I'm going to go in there and prove it. I was forced to spend some time with him this last week with the Marines in Camp Pendleton in San Diego and it was fun. He can actually take a joke, and we were at each other's throat a little bit at the beginning there. He's a decent guy, but he has a lot of growing up to do, and me beating him up is going to be part of that process."To his credit, Cruz has done nothing but "Dominate" since starting his young career back in early 2005.
The Alliance MMA product has been on a stellar run, winning 17 of his 18 career contests. The lone blemish? To none other than Faber himself, at the aforementioned WEC event back in 2007.
Cruz made his debut at 135-pounds just one fight later and hasn't lost since, defeating the likes of Joseph Benavidez, Brian Bowles and most recently, Scott Jorgensen.
These two have had a grudge building in the media for a while now, with Faber calling Cruz a "d-bag" and Dominick repeatedly stating he would love to avenge his only career loss.
Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber at UFC 132.
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