Jul 2, 2011 - 10:00:40 AM

By: Matt Pelkey, MMATorch Columnist

Urijah Faber will see a familiar face staring at him across the cage Saturday night. He and Dominick Cruz have fought once before in a fight that took place over four years ago, albeit under slightly reversed circumstances.

Saturday night they'll be fighting for Cruz's UFC Bantamweight Title, but at WEC 26 in March of 2007, it was Faber's WEC Featherweight title that was on the line. Cruz was 9-0 and making his promotional debut with a title shot (such was the state of contenders in WEC's featherweight division in 2007. Faber's opponents in his other two title defenses that year: Chance Farrar and Jeff Curran. Even just 3+ years later, I think its safe to say we've come a long way...baby), while Faber, despite being in only his third fight with the promotion, was entrenched as not only a champion, but as the biggest star in the company. A little over a minute and half into the fight, Faber snatched Cruz's neck, cinched in the patented Team Alpha Male guillotine choke, and forced a tap from the challenger.

The loss remains the only one so far in Cruz's career. Following the defeat, Cruz went outside the organization for his next fight, picked up a first round KO victory, and returned to the WEC in June of 2008 at WEC 34 against Charlie Valencia, this time as a bantamweight. He beat Valencia, Ian McCall (now a standout in the little seen flyweight division), Ivan Lopez, and Joseph Benavidez in succession to earn a shot at then-champ Brian Bowles. Using his now-signature footwork and combinations, Cruz danced in and out and side to side, landing strikes at will for two rounds before Bowles refused to come out for the third round due to a broken hand.

Now the champ, Cruz has followed that performance up with two title defenses; a split decision over Joseph Benavidez (again) at WEC 50, and a unanimous decision over Scotty Jorgensen at the last ever WEC event, WEC 53. After WEC 53, the bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight divisions of the WEC were merged into the UFC, and Cruz was rechristened the UFC Bantamweight Champion.

Looking at the raw data since their first fight, its easy to think Cruz has gone on to the more successful career than the California Kid in the last four years. Since then, Cruz is 8-0, has turned into one of the toughest match-ups in the sport, and is not only currently a champion, but he's a UFC champion (something Faber couldn't claim even when he was on top of the featherweight world). Faber, on the other hand, is 7-3 since the first fight, lost his title to the bigger, badder Mike Brown, failed to get it back in the Brown rematch (ok, so the two broken hands might've had something to do with it), and even when the door reopened to the title after Jose Aldo disposed of Mike Brown, Aldo thrashed Faber so badly it forced Faber's move down in weight to bantamweight.

Of course, all of that ignores all of this: at the same WEC 34 show where Dominick Cruz made his return at 135, Faber was busy in the main event, the biggest fight in WEC history, against Jens "Lil Evil" Pulver. The fight was a five round classic and launched the WEC and Faber's career to another level. He'd lose the title to Brown in his next fight, but it didn't matter. By that point, Faber was the face of the lighter weight classes and the face of the WEC. Any list of most-watched WEC events will have one thing in common: Urijah Faber was on the card. He may have already been the biggest name on the roster at WEC 26, but he's become a full-blown rock star since, starring in prominent ad campains by both AMP Energy Drink and K-Swiss. The question is: where does he go from here?

If he's able to beat Cruz, its an easy answer. He'll have a career renaissance as a UFC champion and it'll open doors to a slew of big-time title defenses. He'll be headlining UFC pay-per-views against the likes of Brian Bowles, Demetrious Johnson, and (finally) Miguel Torres. He'll have the Zuffa promotional machine behind him and he'll finally get to know what its like to be Georges St. Pierre, B.J. Penn, and Brock Lesnar.

But what if he loses on Saturday? He's already been booted out of one division because he could no longer hang with the guys at the very top, and I doubt he can make the cut to 125. Sure, if he loses to Cruz they'll be 1-1 against each other, so the idea of a third fight if Faber can string together a few wins isn't hard to imagine, but it'll take at least two if not three wins to justify that. Remember, this is the UFC now, and while they're not afraid take a shortcut in their match-making for a big name, it won't be nearly the coddling he received from the WEC brass.

After he lost to Mike Brown the first time, all Faber had to do to get another title shot was beat (a shot by this point) Jens Pulver for a second time. After he lost to Brown for a second time, he only needed a submission victory over Raphael Assuncao to get yet another title shot, this time against Jose Aldo in the headliner of the first and only WEC pay-per-view (spare me the comments or emails about the branding of that event. We can all just agree that it was a WEC ppv, yes?). Hell, even after dropping down to bantamweight he only had to beat Takeya Mizugaki and Eddie Wineland (solid fighters for sure, but neither were particularly close to a title shot themselves) to get a crack at Dominick Cruz.

Should Faber lose on Saturday, he'd be 0-4 in his last four title fights (Kenny Florian, eat your heart out). He'd likely enter what we affectionately call "The Franklin Zone." Because of his name, his past, and his connection with the audience, he'd still find himself in a prominent place on the card for the rest of his days. He might even be called on to headline a pay-per-view in a non-title fight in a pinch. But his days as a champion/title contender would most likely be done. Sure, he could string together a few wins and find himself right back in the title discussion, but at 32 years of age and fighting in such a light weight class, how likely is it that Faber could win three in a row against the younger, faster, hungry lions at 135?

In a career filled with big moments, Saturday night will be the third "biggest fight of his life" for Urijah Faber (the first Pulver fight being the first, and the Aldo fight being the second). Win, and he'll finally receive all the notoriety and financial rewards he should've had the last four years. Lose, and he might become another former champion whose best days are behind him. It'll either be a new beginning or the beginning of the end for "The California Kid."

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