Cruz-Faber Official; 3 More Fights Announced for UFC 132
Mike Whitman Apr 5, 2011
The rematch is official.
Dominick Cruz (Pictured) will defend his UFC bantamweight title against former WEC featherweight king Urijah Faber at UFC 132.
The event, which goes down July 2 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas, will also feature a trio of pivotal lightweight
confrontations. Aussie George
Sotiropoulos and Oregon-native Evan Dunham
will each try to rebound from respective losses as they square off
at the event. The two men who last beat Dunham and Sotiropoulos
will also see action at the show, as Melvin
Guillard and Dennis Siver
take on Shane
Roller and Matt Wiman,
respectively.
Though not yet added to the official fight card, former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Wanderlei Silva is expected to make his return from injury against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 participant Chris Leben in a middleweight showdown. Also likely for the show is a light heavyweight affair pitting one-time light heavyweight king Tito Ortiz against “TUF 8” winner Ryan Bader.
Faber and Cruz first met in 2007, with Faber submitting Cruz with a one-armed guillotine choke in just 98 seconds to successfully defend his WEC featherweight title. Once dominant at 145 pounds, Faber eventually ran into a wall in the form of Mike Thomas Brown and Jose Aldo.
After losing only once through his first 22 pro contests, Faber was bested by both of the aforementioned featherweights, losing three of five fights from 2008 to 2010 and prompting a cut to bantamweight. Since making that drop to 135 pounds, “The California Kid” has looked sharp in both of his efforts in his new division, putting Takeya Mizugaki to sleep in November and then outpointing Eddie Wineland in both fighters' UFC debuts in March.
The only blemish on Cruz's record is his loss to Faber. After that defeat in his WEC debut, Cruz was reborn in the little blue cage as a bantamweight and hasn't lost since, capturing the promotion's 135-pound title by besting Brian Bowles just over one year ago. Cruz defended the belt -- now the UFC bantamweight title -- twice in 2010, besting Faber's teammate Joseph Benavidez in August and the surging Scotty Jorgensen in December.
Dominick Cruz (Pictured) will defend his UFC bantamweight title against former WEC featherweight king Urijah Faber at UFC 132.
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Though not yet added to the official fight card, former Pride Fighting Championships titleholder Wanderlei Silva is expected to make his return from injury against “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 1 participant Chris Leben in a middleweight showdown. Also likely for the show is a light heavyweight affair pitting one-time light heavyweight king Tito Ortiz against “TUF 8” winner Ryan Bader.
Faber and Cruz first met in 2007, with Faber submitting Cruz with a one-armed guillotine choke in just 98 seconds to successfully defend his WEC featherweight title. Once dominant at 145 pounds, Faber eventually ran into a wall in the form of Mike Thomas Brown and Jose Aldo.
After losing only once through his first 22 pro contests, Faber was bested by both of the aforementioned featherweights, losing three of five fights from 2008 to 2010 and prompting a cut to bantamweight. Since making that drop to 135 pounds, “The California Kid” has looked sharp in both of his efforts in his new division, putting Takeya Mizugaki to sleep in November and then outpointing Eddie Wineland in both fighters' UFC debuts in March.
The only blemish on Cruz's record is his loss to Faber. After that defeat in his WEC debut, Cruz was reborn in the little blue cage as a bantamweight and hasn't lost since, capturing the promotion's 135-pound title by besting Brian Bowles just over one year ago. Cruz defended the belt -- now the UFC bantamweight title -- twice in 2010, besting Faber's teammate Joseph Benavidez in August and the surging Scotty Jorgensen in December.
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