"For the past four years, the only name I've been asked about is Faber," Cruz said, "whether I'm on the Fox desk or shopping at the mall. Let's get him out of my face and out of the way, so I can continue to clean out the division.

"We owe it to the fans to make this trilogy happen. It's been almost a decade in the making."

Cruz and Faber were supposed to meet in 2012 before Cruz suffered his first ACL injury, and Faber is still the only fighter to hold a win over the new champion. Cruz avenged that loss in a close fight in 2011, while Faber's had varying levels of success since that last meeting.

Penick's Analysis: While a Cruz-Dillashaw rematch is just as called for at this point, the UFC may see a moment to get this fight out of the way while they still can. Faber's nearing the end of his run, regardless of success in non-title competition, and if he doesn't get the next shot, he may wind up fading out. It's not likely in 2016 that Faber would beat Cruz, but if he did he'd set up that Dillashaw fight or yet another bout with Cruz. Regardless, it's a fight that works if the UFC wants to book it.

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