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UFC 149: Renan Barao Will Wait to Fight Dominick Cruz, but Urijah Won’t
According to MMAFighting.com, if Brazilian sensation Renan Barao comes out victorious in his UFC 149 interim title clash with Urijah Faber, he’s intent on waiting for a title shot against bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. Though that might be the…
According to MMAFighting.com, if Brazilian sensation Renan Barao comes out victorious in his UFC 149 interim title clash with Urijah Faber, he’s intent on waiting for a title shot against bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. Though that might be the case for Barao, Faber on the other hand doesn’t plan on staying idle whilst “The Dominator” recuperates from his injuries.
“I think I would want to want to wait to fight Dominick Cruz,” he said. “That’s a fight that I would really want. And I would want to convert my interim title into a definitive title for the weight class.”
Originally, Faber was slated to throw hands with Cruz at UFC 148, however, following news that the champ had torn his ACL (Anterior Crucial Ligament) during training, the 25-year-old Barao was ushered in to take his place in the now confirmed main event of UFC 149.
There’s no telling how long Cruz will be out of action, but it could be anything up to a year or more.
That said, it seems Barao, who is currently riding an incredible 29-fight unbeaten streak, is intent on keeping his date with destiny if all goes well on July 21.
Conversely, former WEC 145-pound titlist Faber, who was set to face off against Cruz in a trilogy decider, is adamant that if he wins the interim belt he won’t be putting his career on hold in anticipation of when Cruz returns to fold.
“I’m not waiting for Dominick in any way, shape, or form,” Faber said. “It makes sense for Carlos Condit to wait around for Georges St-Pierre. It’s a huge fight for him, but for me, of course, everyone wants to see the fight with Dominick and I, but I’m not going to put my life on hold because of his injuries. Fighting’s what I do, it’s how I make my living, it’s what I love to do, and I’ll be fighting whenever they give me the opportunity.”
Faber (26-5 MMA, 2-1 UFC) handed Cruz his sole loss to date (submission via guillotine choke) more than five years ago. At the time, Faber was the current WEC 145-pound champion.
However, the Alliance MMA fighter returned the favor at UFC 132, winning and successfully defending his 135-pound crown by way of unanimous decision.
UFC 149 is scheduled for July 21, 2012, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Canada.
According to MMAFighting.com, if Brazilian sensation Renan Barao comes out victorious in his UFC 149 interim title clash with Urijah Faber, he’s intent on waiting for a title shot against bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. Though that might be the case for Barao, Faber on the other hand doesn’t plan on staying idle whilst “The Dominator” recuperates from his injuries.