UFC 132 Features Contentious Matchup Between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber
It all started four years ago when Urijah Faber submitted Dominick Cruz with a guillotine choke in the first round of WEC 26.
In the post-fight exchange, Cruz (17-1, 0-0 UFC) felt Faber slighted him, and the rest was history.
Said Faber, via Yahoo! Sports:
“I went up to him and I said, ‘Good fight.’ That was it. I said, ‘Good fight, buddy.’
“I don’t think I was rubbing it in. I was just kind of like, ‘Good fight. Try again, buddy.’ But he knows what I meant. He was right.”
Cruz, seething, followed up Faber’s actions by signing his name on Faber’s face on posters in the WEC, and it sets MMA fans up for tonight’s fight in Las Vegas.
Cruz has excellent conditioning, which favors him if the fight goes long. He’s also a dangerous stand-up boxer, with knockout punching power.
On top of that, his stance is very awkward, which apparently has worked very well for him in his career thus far.
Faber (25-4, 1-0 UFC) will likely try to do what he did when the two fought four years back, get Cruz to the mat using his strong takedowns and use his submission prowess to make it a wrestling match.
However, even when the two fighters are standing, Faber does have very quick hands, and his quickness could cause Cruz problems.
One thing’s for sure: both will be trying to prove who is the better fighter in a longstanding rivalry, which usually lends itself to an exciting fight.
Faber has even released viral videos mocking Cruz.
It’s fitting that in Cruz’s UFC debut fight, he’ll be pitted against his bitter rival. He’s certainly not going to be welcomed in with open arms.