Urijah Faber is one of the most recognizable stars in mixed martial arts. He was the face of WEC for the majority of that promotion’s run. He is a former WEC featherweight champion and one of the best fighters in the history of the sport. But at UFC 132 against Dominick Cruz, it is Faber that has more to prove.
“The California Kid” is not the fighter that he once was. Sure, he has won his last two fights, but when you dig deeper, you can see a man that has clearly lost a step or two. His record in his last seven fights is a mediocre 4-3. His striking isn’t as crisp as it once was. His ground game and submission skills look off.
Cruz, meanwhile, has evolved into one of the very best fighters in the world. He doesn’t finish a lot of fights, but he methodically dissecting his opponents each time he steps in the cage.
Faber is no longer the 27-year-old who rolled through the WEC featherweight division. He is a 32-year-old man trying to find the magic that made him a force to be reckoned with.
Cruz has nothing to prove to anyone in this fight because no one really knows about him. He could stand in a lineup and most fans wouldn’t be able to tell him from me.
But Faber has everything on the line in this fight. He needs this win because the window of opportunity is closing sooner rather than later. He was a big fish in the little WEC pond for years, but in UFC he can become something even more. He has to have championship gold if he wants to be THE man.
This fight is the biggest in the respective careers of both these men. Cruz needs to win to escape the shadow of Faber from their days in WEC. Faber needs to win to prove that he can still compete with the best fighters in the world.