John: It is rare that fight fans get excited for a bantamweight fight, but this is certainly an exception. Even most casual fans know about Faber and Cruz, and this promises to be an exciting match up.
Faber handed Cruz his sole loss amidst a 17-1 professional career back in 2007. Cruz maintains that Faber got lucky, and that he is a much better fighter now. For what it’s worth, also consider that their first meeitng was at featherweight.
That is fairly significant since this is Faber’s bantamweight debut. Some fans have questioned if Cruz will perform well at 135, since he already looked to be in tremendous shape at 145.
I don’t forsee this being the issue, as I don’t think Faber is the type of guy to make a weight cut he couldn’t handle. Faber is an awesome grappler who knows how to finish, while Cruz is more of a grinding wrestler with some slick hands when he chooses to use them.
Given that more of half of Faber’s 25 wins have come by submission (13), I think his submission prowess will still be the difference, four years later.
(Faber via fourth round submission)
Dale: You can tell by their respective demeanors and their pre-fight trash talk that Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber will likely be the ones to top Silva-Leben, and for good reason:
They both do not like each other…at all.
Breaking the fight down, Faber’s wrestling and submission game is going up against the striking of Cruz, although Cruz is expecting this second fight with Faber to turn out similarly to his fights with Joseph Benavidez.
That could be a mistake, especially considering how different Benavidez and Faber are from a stylistic point, but if Dominick has been rolling around with black belts ever since the first loss, and I suspect he has, this fight will play out more like his last fight with Scott Jorgensen, although less decisively as the Jorgensen win.
Faber will come close, but he will not walk out the victor or the new champion, but mark my word, he will have pleaded a strong case for the win.
At the end of the day, however, Cruz will even the score, and although the beef might be squashed, the rivalry will not end with the champ retaining his crown.
There will be a third, and after Saturday, we’ll all be calling for it.
Cruz def. Faber by Unanimous Decision (49-46 x2, 50-45)
Sean: The grudge between Cruz and Faber will finally be settled on Saturday, as the two will meet in Cruz’s first ever defense of the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
In their first meeting, Faber earned a submission win with a one-armed guillotine choke.It won’t come nearly as easily this time, but Faber should be able to defeat Cruz with his superior ground game once again.
Cruz has vastly improved since the last time he fought Faber, but “The California Kid” will also be his biggest test since the last time he fought “The California Kid.”Faber has had an outstanding career to this point, but he will take it one step further by cementing his legacy with his first UFC championship.
(Faber defeats Cruz by unanimous decision)
Dwight: Dominick Cruz is the newly crowned king of the bantamweight division and he is motivated by revenge for his only loss in his career. Urijah Faber is the previous king of the bantamweight and featherweight divisions of mixed martial arts, and he is trying to hold his elite fighter status for just a little while longer.
Faber is an extremely popular fighter and will have many opportunities in this sport post fight career, but I believe he needs this win to stay relevant for a title in the division he has decided to make his home. His fight with Jose Aldo showed that his days as the featherweight champ could surely be over. Faber will need his whole arsenal of wrestling and submissions to pull off a win.
Cruz is an extremely dedicated fighter, who is just coming into his prime in mixed martial arts, and he will be looking to mix his awesome footwork and boxing, as well as his solid take down defense to keep this in his world. He got caught quickly last fight by Faber’s famed guillotine choke, but he is a much more prepared fighter this time around.
(Cruz by fourth round TKO)