• UFC 132

Faber dares Cruz to finish him at UFC 132

Urijah Faber claims he has beaten a better standard of opponent than Dominick Cruz ahead of UFC 132 © Getty Images

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Urijah Faber is attempting to lure Dominick Cruz into another mistake at UFC 132, by challenging the bantamweight champion to chase a finish.

Faber enters Saturday's main event as the No. 1 contender to a man who has won his last seven fights. Cruz has been dominant over big-name opponents like Scott Jorgenson and Brian Bowles, and he enters the weekend's clash as favourite.

The champion's last, and only, loss came against Faber, when he discarded his gameplan to seek a takedown, handing Faber the chance to snap on a guillotine. Since then, a more calculated, more mature Cruz has won six of seven fights by decision, so Faber challenged him to prove he is more than just a points-scorer.

"I'm going to go for the finish. I don't think that he doesn't have the tools to finish, I just don't think he has the mindset to finish," Faber told MMA Weekly.

"You have to go in there and try to fight for the finish, and I feel like he's in there kind of like an Olympic-style boxer, scores his points and stuff like that, and is satisfied with what he does. I think he's lacking the killer instinct. That's something I have."

Faber has also questioned the quality of opponent Cruz has beaten. The champ holds wins over the likes of Jorgenson, Bowles and Joseph Benavidez, while Faber has overcome Jens Pulver, Raphael Assuncao, Takeya Mizugaki and Eddie Wineland.

"I've definitely fought better guys than him," said the California Kid. "The bottom line is Dominick Cruz beat Brian Bowles to get the belt, he defended the title against Joseph [Benavidez], and he defended the title against Scott Jorgensen all by decisions.

"Joseph won the stand-up portion in my opinion, and was beat by takedowns. The one thing I can take away from that first fight is that Dominick's definitely beatable. I've experienced that firsthand."

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