Author: Leon Horne

Graham Spencer Trained with Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male for MFC Debut

Outside of the UFC, money is hard to come by in professional mixed martial arts. Many fighters are faced with the tough reality of having to work a full-time job while pursuing MMA or living through the financial hardships of full-time MMA training.MFC…

Outside of the UFC, money is hard to come by in professional mixed martial arts. Many fighters are faced with the tough reality of having to work a full-time job while pursuing MMA or living through the financial hardships of full-time MMA training.

MFC featherweight Graham Spencer will be making his debut for the organization this Friday, and he is one of many fighters who decide to quit their day job to train full time.

“It [quitting] was easy because I love MMA, but it was tough because I make good money, and I really enjoy working with all the guys I was working with,” Spencer told Bleacher Report. “Mainly it was tough just because of financial reasons, but I sort of had to do it because it was now or never. If I just keep doing it [MMA] as a hobby, I know I will always be fighting on the local circuit, and I want to do bigger things than that.”

With work behind him, Spencer made the trek down south to Sacramento, California to train with Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male for a six-week camp.

This was Spencer’s second stint with Alpha Male. Highly focused on fighters in the lighter weight classes, Team Alpha Male was the ideal fit for Spencer, who is looking to take the featherweight division by storm.

Not only is Team Alpha Male, with its level of sparring partners and coaching, great for lighter-weight fighters who want to hone their skills, but the way the fighters treat each other is great.

 

“They [Team Alpha Male] are like a big family down there,” Spencer said. “The first time I went down there, they don’t know me or anything, I’m a nobody. After I was there for two days, I was staying in a hotel and Faber took me aside and said he had a room for me in one of his houses so I got to save a lot of money and stay in one of his houses […] This time, same thing, I was planning on staying in a hotel, but he set me up with John Cofer—he was on the Ultimate Fighter— and another kid from Detroit and he set it up so I could just stay there.”

The family atmosphere stems from their leader, Faber. He enjoys coaching guys up and imparting his knowledge to others, and he has done a wonderful job at turning himself and his image into a profitable enterprise. Spencer has a pretty good idea as to why that is.

“He’s a pretty amazing guy, he’s always doing something. He’s never just laying around watching TV or whatever,” Spencer said. “He’ll be coaching practice and then when he’s done the practice he’ll be dressed in a suit going to L.A. to do commentary, meeting managers and all kinds of stuff, he’s really an amazing guy.”

Spencer had a great experience with Team Alpha Male, and if it were up to him he’d be moving down there to train with them full time.

“I’d definitely love to move down there. It’s just a financial thing really, like it’s real tough to get a visa. It kind of just depends on how I do in my next fights, but that would be a goal of mine to move down there and train,” Spencer said.

 

Spencer didn’t put in a six-week camp away from his family in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada just to make friends with Faber and the Alpha Male guys. He’s preparing for the biggest fight in his career thus far against former Ultimate Fighter season 8 competitor Shane Nelson.

Nelson holds a professional record of 15-6, and he split wins with losses going 2-2 during his time in the UFC. For Spencer, he knows Nelson is going to make for an exciting fight, and he is looking forward to it.

“He’s the biggest name I fought, he’s got the best record, he’s fought in the UFC, he trains out of a big time camp as well, he was on the Ultimate Fighter, a lot of people know him, this is his first fight at 145 [pounds] and I think it’s going to be a really good one,” Spencer said.

The fight won’t simply be an exciting one according to Spencer, it’s going to be a tough one too. Nelson has that Hawaiian-warrior spirit we’ve all come to know through B.J. Penn’s memorable moments in the Octagon.

“Hawaiians are pretty well known for being super tough dudes, so that’s the main thing, and also he’s going to be really good on the ground, which is my strength too, so we’ll further see how that plays out during the fight,” he said. “On the feet, he’s just super aggressive and loves to scrap, I don’t like moving backwards in my fights at all so I think it’s going to be a war.”

 

This is Spencer’s first fight under contract with the MFC, and he knows that a path to the title in the organization is an eventual path to the UFC; he is expecting to take full advantage of the opportunity that has been afforded to him.

“I was the champion in Battlefield Fight [League]. I feel like I’m stepping into a bigger promotion, and I want to be champion here [MFC], and if everything works out, hopefully I get the call up to the UFC and I can make a name for myself there too,” He said. “Mark [Pavelich, MFC president] told me himself when I first signed with MFC, he asked me if I knew what happens if I get that MFC belt, he said, ‘Our champions go to the UFC,’ he’s a smart guy.”

“UFC is the ultimate goal,” Spencer reiterated.

The fight with Nelson is slated for MFC 35 this Friday night at the Mayfield Trade Center in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Fans in the United States can catch the event live on AXS TV, and Canadians can look out for a replay date on TSN 2 in a couple of weeks.

Spencer wanted to thank some companies and people who made everything possible: Klench Kustom Mouthguards, RYU Apparel, his manager Darcy McBride and, last but not least, Mark Pavelich and the MFC.

If you want to follow Spencer in the lead up to his fight, you can catch him on Twitter @GSpence145.

 

Leon Horne enjoys all sports and has a particular interest in MMA; give him a follow on Twitter for more information and keep an eye out for interesting interviews and news:

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Jacob Volkmann: ‘I Consider Chael Sonnen the True Champion at Light Heavyweight’

Jacob Volkmann is finally set to face off against fellow lightweight Shane Roller at UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot in front of a hometown crowd.Just over a month ago, Volkmann, Roller and many other UFC fighters were being told they’d have to live to f…

Jacob Volkmann is finally set to face off against fellow lightweight Shane Roller at UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot in front of a hometown crowd.

Just over a month ago, Volkmann, Roller and many other UFC fighters were being told they’d have to live to fight another day with the cancellation of UFC 151.

“It kind of sucked because I was ready to fight,” Volkmann told Bleacher Report.

Luckily for Volkmann, the UFC was able to reschedule his match with Roller just four weeks after the originally scheduled bout.

The cancellation of UFC 151 back in August lead to a lot of backlash against current light heavyweight Jon Jones by the fans, media and UFC president Dana White himself.

Despite challenger Dan Henderson being the one who had to pull out with injury, people felt that Jones should have taken the replacement fight offered to him by the UFC, which was none other than former middleweight challenger Chael Sonnen. Vokmann isn’t one to side with Jones on the topic either.

“I think he [Jones] should’ve taken the fight, there’s no reason he shouldn’t have” Volkmann said. “He had a whole training camp leading up to that fight and the guy [Dan Henderson] gets injured and then someone else comes along to fight him on short notice, there’s no reason he shouldn’t have fought. I consider Chael Sonnen the true champion at light heavyweight.”

Sonnen would probably be quick to agree with Volkmann as Mr. Sonnen called himself the true middleweight champion for quite sometime despite the first loss to Anderson Silva.

The cancellation of UFC 151: Jones vs. Henderson lead many people to believe that the UFC was maybe putting on too many shows and spreading its roster thin.

“They’re not thin, I don’t know what people are thinking, there are so many fighters that are only getting two fights a year,” he said.

Volkmann is right, there are a lot of guys who are only fighting one to two times a year. The problem probably lies with the fact that the UFC hasn’t built up enough of its roster with the fans, so it ends up being the top guys who are spread too thin.

For Volkmann though, he is just happy to have a fight so soon after the cancellation, and despite having to put in four extra weeks of hard camp, he’s ready to go.

Volkmann is coming off his first loss in six fight since dropping to lightweight. He lost to English fighter Paul Sass via submission, something Sass was used to doing until last weekend where he lost by submission himself.

One would wonder why Volkmann—a solid wrestler—ended up on the ground with someone as crafty as Sass, and Volkmann himself hopes to avoid making mistakes like this going forward.

“I had a game plan and right as soon as I got into the fight the game plan kind of just fell apart. I played his game, I landed in his guard and fought up in there which is not what I wanted to do at the beginning. The main thing I learned is just to stay with the game plan,” Volkmann said. “I wanted to stay standing with [Sass], but we locked up and I was like fine I’ll take him to the ground.”

Roller has a collegiate wrestling background himself, and similarly to Sass he has quite a few submission victories to his name. Roller has had a bit of a rocky road in the UFC, and Volkmann hopes to exploit that tonight.

“I need to (get) on him and get him on the ground and wear him out,” Volkmann said. “As soon as I do that, he should break, he has been broken.”

We will see if Volkmann, as a former University of Minnesota alum, breaks Roller or not later tonight on Fuel TV. He’ll definitely have the crowd behind him for this fight.

 

Leon Horne enjoys all sports and has a particular interest in MMA; give him a follow on Twitter for more information and keep an eye out for interesting interviews and news,

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Mukai Maromo: Preparing for MFC Lightweight Fight at Tri Star Gym

Mukai “The Afrikan Assassin” Maromo was supposed to be fighting for the vacant MFC lightweight title tonight, but his opponent Adam Lynn came in over the 155 pound limit. The fight will still go down as the main event tomorrow and will be a three-round…

Mukai “The Afrikan Assassin” Maromo was supposed to be fighting for the vacant MFC lightweight title tonight, but his opponent Adam Lynn came in over the 155 pound limit. The fight will still go down as the main event tomorrow and will be a three-round non-title fight instead.

Maromo hopes to put the controversy of their first show down to rest as he was the victor in a hotly contested battle that resulted in him being awarded with the judges’ split decision.

“I would love to win beyond a shadow of a doubt and I think I let that fight [first Lynn fight] ride a little too close,” Maromo told Bleacher Report. “I lost the first round for sure, he came out really strong and caught me with a left hook that knocked me down, but that was pretty much all he did for the whole fight. The rest of the fight was me really taking the fight to him for the last two rounds and I got the split decision.”

Lynn is no newbie when it comes to the sport of MMA. Having fought the likes of former Strikeforce champions Josh Thomson and Nick Diaz and with a 17-9-0 record, Lynn is well travelled.

For Maromo, 7-2-0 himself, the first Lynn fight was a tricky affair considering Lynn’s experience, but Maromo is ready for him this time around.

“I’ve experienced being in the ring with him and any rust or any jitters that I might have had coming in to the first fight are not there anymore,” Maromo said. “I’ve realized where I made my mistakes and how I can beat him so the new game plan is designed to beat him before the end of the fight, so I am looking to finish this fight for sure.”

For the first time, Maromo ran his camp for the rematch with Lynn out of Tri Star gym—home to UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre—a place that is known as being one of the stronger camps on the MMA scene.

In terms of MMA training, Maromo hasn’t seen or worked out at a better place than Tri Star, and hopefully this pays dividends in his fight with Lynn tonight.

“From an MMA standpoint, they (Tri Star) have a very in depth program, they provide everything you need under one roof,” Maromo said. “Also they have a large number of high-quality fighters. They have a number of guys in the UFC, a number of guys in Bellator and a number of guys in high-level promotions around the country. Just the experience itself and training with that caliber of talent in one room, it definitely makes you a much better athlete and competitor for sure. This was a very good move and by far the best MMA camp I’ve had to date.”

It was a long road before getting to Tri Star gym, and even before starting his career in MMA. Maromo is a native of Zimbabwe, Africa, where he grew up. Afterwards he spent some time in the United States on a track and field scholarship before finally deciding to settle in Canada.

Most people find moving a big life event even if it is within the same city. But moving between three countries with different cultures is a massive life event that although positive, can be a lot to get used to.

“It [moving to the States] was a very big move,” Maromo said. “Talk about culture shock at the highest level, you go from a predominantly African country where I speak one language and everything is totally different and then you go from that to North Carolina where people are different, dress different, act different […] it was like taking your whole world and turning it upside down. It was also exciting. It helps you grow as an individual and you experience new things that you never would have experienced. If I was still living back in Zimbabwe I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now.”

Being a native of Zimbabwe and with how instrumental the UFC is in growing the sport of MMA around the world, Maromo is confident we’ll see the day where the UFC puts on a show in a country like his.

“It’s growing phenomenally right now. MMA is like a virus right now. It’s like an epidemic and definitely I think it’s going to really blow up in the smaller countries for sure,” Maromo said. “I don’t think they would do a major pay per view show in a smaller country, but definitely one of their fight nights or one of their smaller shows definitely.”

Maromo might be getting his shot in the UFC by the time they move in to countries like his, but he’ll have to get through Lynn tonight before that happens, and he’s focused on the task at hand. Fans can catch the MFC 34 event live at the Mayfield Trade Center in Edmonton, Alberta or live on AXS TV (formerly HDnet). If you want to know more about Maromo, give him a follow on his Twitter @AfrikanAssassin.

 

Leon Horne enjoys all sports and has a particular interest in MMA; give him a follow on Twitter for more information and keep an eye out for interesting interviews and news,

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Nick Hinchliffe: Dropping 100 Pounds, Fighting Rory MacDonald and MFC Debut

We often hear about guys in combat sports fighting in multiple weight classes. UFC fighters like Rich Franklin, Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Urijah Faber and more have all fought in two or more weight classes over the course of their …

We often hear about guys in combat sports fighting in multiple weight classes. UFC fighters like Rich Franklin, Wanderlei Silva, Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Urijah Faber and more have all fought in two or more weight classes over the course of their respective careers. Whether it is to gain a competitive edge, move on to new challenges, put together a big-money fight or some other reason, some guys simply lend themselves nicely to moving around divisions.

For newly signed Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) fighter Nick Hinchliffe, it isn’t the fact that he’s fought in three weight classes that piques peoples’ interest though. Hinchliffe, a former football player who—at 275 pounds—wasn’t under the heavyweight limit, is now fighting in the welterweight division.

Yes, that welterweight division; the division where fighters have to make the 170 pound limit.

“When I first walked into Impact MMA, I was about 275 pounds fresh off the football field, so from there we started working at getting off some of the big bulky muscle that I didn’t need anymore,” Hinchliffe told Bleacher Report. “I’ve been waiting for my Subway sponsorship [laughingly], a lot of guys who see me that I used to play ball with or even guys I went to high school with […] just can’t believe the difference; people do the double-take or triple-take to make sure that’s who I am.”

Up until now, Hinchliffe was bouncing between 185 pounds and 170 pounds, but he expects to stay at welterweight for now considering his signing with the MFC.

One of Hinchliffe’s first fights at 170 pounds was against current UFC welterweight up-and-comer Rory MacDonald. Many people see MacDonald as the guy to replace Georges St-Pierre in the division once St-Pierre is unseated or decides to move on to new things.

The Hinchliffe vs. MacDonald fight at King of the Cage Canada: Disturbed back in 2009 was actually MacDonald’s spring board fight to the big show.

“I took the Rory Mac[Donald] fight on short notice because nobody wanted to take it,” Hinchliffe said. “So I took it and actually made welterweight in I think in four weeks or three weeks I did that cut. It was a little bit of a speedy cut, probably not a good idea against a killer like Rory Mac, but live and learn right?”

“Honestly he’s [MacDonald] a different fighter from now to then, but he was really good when we first fought for sure,” Hinhliffe said. “It was a back and forth fight; it was a really competitive fight. We were both on the winning and losing end of things [..] He’s a very good grappler, and we got tangled up and I had no arms free and he had one arm free and he was able to keep pelting away. I wasn’t able to get out of that position, and the ref was only going to let me get hit in the face for so long so he had to stop the fight.”

MacDonald is a very tough fight, even for the guys who are the best in the world, but Hinchliffe considers himself a warrior and will always take the fights other guys would turn down.

“I’ve fought in three different weight classes, I’ve fought lots of guys that have been in the UFC, I’ve fought guys that fought in Pride, my kind of shtick is that I will fight anybody, and I’ve always kind of stuck to that,” Hinchliffe said. “I’m impressed by guys that have done what they’ve done and gone as far as they have, but a man is still a man and a man can always be beaten. I’m the guy where if nobody wants to fight that guy, you call me and I’m going to take the fight.”

Not that nobody wants to fight him, but Hinchliffe’s next fight at MFC 34 on August 10 is against the younger brother of Bellator welterweight tournament finalist Douglas Lima, Dhiego. Despite being young in his career, Dhiego is a hot prospect with a 6-1-0 record with all six wins coming by way of knockout or submission.

Dhiego is the kind of fighter that could derail another fighter’s plans for the future; he is young, hungry and finishes fights. Hinchliffe respects Dhiego, but he will be up to the challenge come August 10.

“I think he [Dhiego Lima] is a totally game opponent. I mean it’s a great fight, he’s extremely well rounded and he obviously comes from a great camp,” Hinchliffe said. “Those Brazilian guys, they’re tough, they’ve got a good head on their shoulders, and they always bring the fight and bring it hard.”

Although fans can probably expect fireworks in this fight—both guys will be looking to take each other’s heads off—Hinchliffe likes the fact that there is a mutual respect between them.

“The one thing I definitely appreciate leading up to this fight is I’ve read a lot of his [Lima’s] interviews and I’ve read a lot of my interviews and we both agree to come out real hard, but we’re not dogging each other and we’re not trash talking each other,” Hinchliffe said.

The MFC has television deals with AXS TV (formerly HDNet) and TSN 2 and is is picking up steam in North America because of that. In addition to the TV deals, former MFC light-heavyweight champion Ryan Jimmo burst on to the UFC scene two weekends ago tying the fastest knockout in UFC history at seven seconds with his win over Anthony Perosh. Things are looking good for the MFC and the fighters competing under its banner.

If Hinchliffe can get himself on a run in the MFC, he might be able to take his career to the UFC like Ryan Jimmo did. It can obviously only start with a big win over Lima next week.

To watch Lima and Hinchliffe go at it at MFC 34, fans can either watch it on AXS TV live, live at the Mayfield Trade Center in Edmonton, Alberta or by tape delay on TSN 2. Fans can follow Hinchliffe on Twitter @NickHinchliffe

 

Leon Horne enjoys all sports and has a particular interest in MMA; give him a follow on Twitter for more information and keep an eye out for interesting interviews and news,

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Bellator’s Marcus Aurelio Really Wants to "Prove That Capoeira Is Effective"

Punch, punches, arm bar, rear naked choke. When we look at a fighter’s professional MMA record, these are often the types of finishes we are used to seeing in brackets next to KO, TKO or submission in the win or loss column. Slam, flying switch kick an…

Punch, punches, arm bar, rear naked choke. When we look at a fighter’s professional MMA record, these are often the types of finishes we are used to seeing in brackets next to KO, TKO or submission in the win or loss column.

Slam, flying switch kick and spinning Capoeira kick on the other hand are finishes that are a bit of a rarity on a fighter’s resume. For freshly signed Bellator fighter Marcus “Lelo” Aurelio, that’s how three out of his first seven fights were finished, his remaining three wins were the “boring stuff” like KO (punches), TKO (punch) and Submission (rear naked choke).

Aurelio is still young in his professional MMA career, and he is ready to show people on a larger scale just how effective Capoeira—a rarely utilized martial art—can actually be in MMA. He’s already done it on the smaller stage that is Battle Field Fight League in British Columbia, Canada. Bellator on the other hand provides him with a much bigger stage to send his message.

“I do want to go out there, fight some top guys and really prove that Capoeira is effective and really close a lot of peoples’ mouths in regards to Capoeira being an ineffective martial art,” Marcus told Bleacher Report. “I think that through Bellator this will be a big step, it’s really the place where I can prove myself and prove my martial art.”

Many of you probably haven’t heard of Capoeira or if you have, you probably don’t know much about it. Is it a martial art? Is it a dance? These are some questions you may have. In Canada the masses were introduced to Capoeira through the popular reality television series So You Think You Can Dance Canada, but, Capoeira is so much more than that.

Capoeira has a history that dates back to the 1600s, and is somewhat shrouded in controversy as to where exactly its first beginnings in Brazil are rooted. Part of this controversy was due to the lack of historical documentation and the very controversial setting in which it was developed.

“The history of Capoeira itself, is it’s a ritualized combat that is disguised as a dance and it includes martial arts, acrobatics and music,” Aurelio said. “Originally most Africans, most people that were slaves were from Congo and Angola, two million slaves were transported from these two countries to Brazil to work in sugar cane fields and cocoa fields because there was a huge demand in Europe. From there, they got together with the natives that were from Brazil and they created this martial art called Capoeira. It actually has a lot of influence from native and from African influences, different types of rituals from Africa and different types of rituals from natives is what created what you see in Capoeira today.”

Capoeira, unlike many other martial art forms developed out of dire circumstances for a people who needed to defend themselves from the Portuguese conquerors. Boxing, wrestling, Muay Thai, Taekwondo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are very different art forms in terms of their methods and where they came from historically in comparison to Capoeira.

“Other martial arts like Wushu, Kung Fu or even Jiu-Jitsu they all have books and they have instruction on how to properly apply movement and how to teach this and uniforms and stuff like that,” he said. “Capoeira really didn’t have that, Capoeira really came from the streets, it came from slaves, people who couldn’t learn how to write or read, people who couldn’t write things down to pass it on. What was passed on through Capoeira was just body, I would come and show you how to move your body and you would show it to somebody else.”

Without the rigidity of some other martial arts, Capoeira is somewhat of a free-flowing style that can be made up as you go along. Watch the highlight video of Aurelio attached to this article and you’ll see a fighter who seems to fight with a little bit of reckless abandon, a guy who will improvise in the middle of the fight just to get that stoppage.

Being able to throw spinning kicks, fists, flip around and cart wheel with such speed and fluidity is impressive to see in the middle of a fight. Capoeira makes for a very unorthodox fighting style, the kind of fighting style that freezes an opponent or gets inside their head before the fight even begins.

“When I go in there I try to make myself feel comfortable obviously and my comfort is in Capoeira,” Aurelio said. “They [my opponents] know they don’t know what to expect, because I might throw half a back flip on to some one’s head. It’s like I’ll take those types of risks [..] Capoeira is an art of survival and I am going to do whatever I can to survive at that moment and if it requires me to even throw the kitchen sink at you, I’ll throw the kitchen sink at you, but I am going to get out of there alive.”

So far Capoeira has worked out really well for Aurelio, opening his professional MMA career with a 6-1-0 record with all his victories coming by way of spectacular finishes. With his signing to Bellator’s welterweight division, fans will be able to see whether his success with Capoeira will continue at a higher level.

The Bellator welterweight division is a talented division with guys like current champion Ben Askren, fighters like Douglas Lima, Karl Amoussou and former UFC welterweights Paul Daley and Ben Saunders in the mix. Aurelio is jumping into deep waters, but it’s what he wanted.

“I know it [Bellator] is a big step up, but that’s what I really want to get to,” Aurelio said.

If he continues to finish fights in Bellator the way he has finished fights up until this point in his career, it won’t be long before we see him in the Bellator welterweight tournament and further success could definitely have the UFC come knocking.

Obviously, there are a lot of hurdles for Aurelio to overcome. So many fighters who start off well in this sport end up fizzling out as they get towards the UFC—fans saw that in Hector Lombard’s UFC middleweight debut in Calgary last weekend.

What makes Aurelio’s case so interesting is the fact that he is a second-generation Capoeira practitioner who brings a completely different style in to the sport of MMA, a style that is definitely fan friendly.

What Aurelio can do with his career is bring eyeballs to Capoeira in a fashion similar to the way former light-heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida brought Karate back to the forefront with his spectacular win over Rashad Evans for the UFC light-heavyweight title.

You can see Aurelio make his debut on August 24 at Bellator 73 in Robinsonville, Mississippi. An opponent has yet to be announced for him, but Aurelio assures us he will be on the card.

If you’re interested in learning more about Capoeira and Aurelio visit his training centre’s website Axe Capoeira or the facility he works out of in Vancouver, British-Columbia, Canada. Aurelio can also be followed @barraozinho on twitter.

Leon Horne enjoys all sports and has a particular interest in MMA; give him a follow on Twitter for more information and keep an eye out for interesting interviews and news,

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Urijah Faber Calls out Dominick Cruz on His Lack of Finishes in Zuffa

Urijah Faber may be fighting Renan Barao at UFC 149 this weekend in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but he still has his eye on former foe Dominick Cruz and continues to rib him whenever he gets a chance. During a media scrum after his open workout, Fab…

Urijah Faber may be fighting Renan Barao at UFC 149 this weekend in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but he still has his eye on former foe Dominick Cruz and continues to rib him whenever he gets a chance.

During a media scrum after his open workout, Faber was pretty quick to attack Cruz’s lack of finishes inside the cage. MMA H.E.A.T. caught Faber spitting his venom at Cruz while in the scrum. You can see it in the video (start from the 5:24 mark).

“He’s [Barao] more dangerous than Dominick for sure,” Faber told the media. “But, anybody that has one finish in Zuffa is more dangerous than Dominick by the stats. [pauses] It’s true.”

Talk about fighting words and MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant’s dumbfounded “Ouch” pretty much says it all. I don’t think anybody was expecting that out of Faber’s mouth, it sounded like he took a page out of Chael Sonnen’s school of trash talk.

In a sense, there is some truth to Faber’s words. Cruz only has one finish in 10 fights under the Zuffa banner and only six finishes in his entire 20 fight career. The one finish while with Zuffa was actually a doctor stoppage, not a knockout or submission. Cruz isn’t exactly a finisher, especially when you compare him to Faber who has 21 finishes in 26 wins or Barao with 19 finishes in 28 wins.

Despite the lack of finishes, Cruz is a winner inside the cage. His unorthodox striking style and ability to stay out of danger has put him on a 10-fight winning streak and earned him an impressive record of 19-1-0.

 

To say Cruz isn’t dangerous because the statistics show that he isn’t going to ring a guy’s bell or break their arm is a fair assessment. However, there is a very good chance his opponents come out on the losing end when in a fight with him and that’s a danger right there.

Don’t think for one second that Faber is underestimating Barao because he was talking about Cruz. He knows the Brazilian is coming to fight this Saturday and he knows a win isn’t a guarantee. But he also knows that a win over Barao puts him on a collision course with Cruz and he doesn’t want to let the rivalry die down.

If Faber wins this weekend and continues taking potshots at Cruz in the hopes that the champion reciprocates, by the time their fight finally comes to fruition there should be a ton of hype around the rubber match between these two great fighters.

Normally it’s been Cruz that eggs on the war of words between himself and Faber with Faber normally brushing them aside, but Faber has clearly decided to play along. It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 12-18 months should Faber pull through against Barao this weekend.

The rubber match is something I think most fans want to see. Faber submitted Cruz in their first encounter and despite Cruz winning the second fight, he was dropped by Faber on multiple occasions en route to the decision victory.

Barao looks like a tough fight for anybody in the UFC bantamweight division though, including Faber and Cruz. There is no doubt, Barao will be fighting for a title someday, but it would be nice to see the trilogy between Faber and Cruz along with the trash talk leading up to it happen before Barao gets his shot at UFC glory.

 

Leon Horne enjoys all sports and has a particular interest in MMA; give him a follow on Twitter for more information and keep an eye out for interesting interviews and news,

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com