UFC
Urijah Faber driven by personal vendetta into third fight with UFC Champ Dominick Cruz
Nov 21, 2011 - 6:45:39 PM Urijah Faber driven by personal vendetta into third fight with UFC Champ Dominick Cruz

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Urijah Faber is the only man to hold a victory over current UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz. Faber submitted Cruz back in 2007 in a fight for the WEC Featherweight Championship, and in July of this year the faced each other for a second time. This time, however, Cruz managed to survive some bad spots to take a decision win in a close fight.

That loss doesn't sit well with Faber. He rolled over Brian Bowles at UFC 139 on Saturday night, submitting him in the second round to set up a third fight with Cruz, and with that win behind him he's now on a mission to prove he's better than Cruz.

"I just don't feel like he's a better fighter than I am, and I don't think that he proved it in that fight," Faber reiterated of their UFC 132 meeting at the UFC 139 post-fight press conference. "I feel like he tried to take my down 11 or 12 times, I don't know if he's getting points for that, but he only took me down for like 10 seconds with one of them. I dropped him three times with my hand on his chin and he hit the ground. In boxing that's a knockdown and in wrestling he wouldn't have [scored] a takedown. I punched him every time and split him from there."

The frustration in Faber's voice over the loss to Cruz was apparent, and now that he's earned another shot at that fight it's clear he wants to make a statement.

"I think that I did some good things [in that fight]," he continued. "I guess you've got to do more and have more output if it goes to a decision, but I don't like to think about going to a decision; I'm going to go in there to finish the fight."

"It's for the UFC title, but it's for a personal vendetta [as well]. We're 1-1 now, there's a trilogy, and we're going to find out who's the man for the rest of our lives. That's important to me."

Penick's Analysis: There are adjustments Faber can make from the fight in July that can absolutely bring him a win against Cruz in the third fight. There was an argument that he won the fight at UFC 132 because of his knockdowns and aggression, so essentially he's looking at needing to capitalize when he has Cruz hurt in this third bout. Faber was more aggressive in the fight against Bowles, and really imposed his will throughout. He was a bit too cautious against Cruz, and that attributed to the lost decision. If he makes those adjustments, don't be surprised to see him snap his losing streak in title fights.

[Urijah Faber art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]