• UFC 132

Faber dismisses Cruz threat

ESPN staff
June 24, 2011
Urijah Faber suggests new nicknames for Dominick Cruz

Urijah Faber has dismissed the chances of his opponent Dominick Cruz when the pair meet in the headline fight at UFC 132.

The pair have met once before in 2007, when Faber won inside 90 seconds, and Cruz has evolved as a fighter in the past four years. Faber is aware his opponent in Las Vegas on July 2 has made moves to improve but he feels the bantamweight title fight will have the same outcome.

"Our first fight, I wasn't impressed with the guy at all," Faber said. "He wasn't a terrible fighter, but it wasn't anything that stood out.

"He's changed, but the thing that hasn't changed with him, is that he's not dangerous. It's ironic that a guy, especially with the name Dominick 'The Dominator' Cruz, isn't dominating anyone. He should be called an 'Irritator', or 'The Eluder', not 'Dominator'."

Cruz is likely to try and prevent the fight from being taken to the canvas, but it is not a prospect that has Faber losing any sleep.

He said: "Am I a guy that is worried about his stand-up game? No I'm not. I'm a hard guy to hit. I feel like my wrestling pedigree is better, my jiu jitsu is better, and I feel like my hands are going to be better.

"And I've been tested. When the going gets tough, I get going. I'm going to be marching forward trying to capture that belt."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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