Breaking Down UFC 132: Cruz Vs Faber
Added on Jul 02, 2011 by John Petit in
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Bantamweight Championship bout:
Dominick Cruz (c) vs. Urijah Faber
Dominick Cruz
Odds: -160
Reach: 68 inches
Record: 17-1
UFC Record: 0-0 (wec 7-1)
Last 5: +5
Streak: +7
Urijah Faber
Odds: +145
Reach: 69 inches
Record: 25-4
UFC Record: 1-0 (WEC 8-3)
Last 5: 3-2
Streak: +2
Four years ago a dominant Urijah Faber grabbed the neck of Dominick Cruz and forced him to tap to a guillotine choke a minute and forty seconds into the fight , and handed Cruz his first Pro loss. 4 years is a lifetime when you are talking about training and fighting in Mixed Martial Arts at any level, let alone the WEC and the UFC. Cruz still only has that one loss, and Faber has had a roller coaster ride of ups and downs himself. Don’t be fooled for second, BOTH fighters aren’t the same as they were when they first met. Both have gotten better in some ways, and both have no interest in losing in this championship fight.
This is a step up in competition for Faber at 135 pounds. He has rattled off two wins since dropping down, but neither are any where near as tough and as hungry as Cruz. To beat Cruz Faber will have to grind him out on the floor, and to do that he will have to come forward and pressure him for 25 minutes straight. If he lets Cruz jump in and out of his wheel house on the feet, the California Kid will get picked apart in no time flat. Faber’s key to win this one is to not let Cruz come forward the whole time, and keep Cruz on his heels.
Cruz has to realize that at some point he is going to be on his back, and will have to fight his way back to his feet. He just needs to stop a majority of the takedowns, and be able to push the pace on Faber while mixing up his punches. Kicking seems like a bad strategy for Dominick unless he sees something real clear he knows Faber can’t catch, and that goes for the knees as well. One well landed knee or kick could end Faber’s night, but if it is ill timed it could definitely cost Cruz the round. So he has to be careful when fighting on the inside in the clinch.
This fight really is a toss up, and will certainly show what kind of fighter both guys are with a win. They both know this as well. If Cruz wins this one, we may hear some “Welcome to the Cruz era” talk from Rogan. One thing to certainly point out is this, Cruz hasn’t fought in the Octagon before, and certainly hasn’t fought an event this big. It will be interesting to see how he responds tot he pressure. I see Cruz winning this because I believe he has what it takes to mix up his striking and confuse Faber for at least 3 of the five rounds, and thats all he will need. I see Cruz getting the decision in this one, and it wouldn’t shock me to see Cruz finish Faber either. However, I think we are in for a close fight, and I hope we don’t get another judging mess on the card. This should be a classic fight none the less.
