Urijah Faber (33-8) is a certifiable legend in the sport of mixed martial arts. “The California Kid” led the charge for the lighter weight classes and has achieved nearly everything there is to achieve—except for getting his hands on UFC gold.
UFC 199 will be his fourth, and most likely final, attempt to claim the one thing that has continued to elude him throughout his career.
Standing in his way is his nemesis, Dominick Cruz (21-1). According to Odds Shark's Justin Hartling, Cruz enters as a significant -600 favorite (bet $600 to win $100) to retain his bantamweight title.
Both times Cruz returned from long absences, thanks to multiple major injuries, he looked fantastic. He blew through Takeya Mizugaki and bested TJ Dillashaw in each instance. Faber will be fighting a better version of Cruz than he faced at WEC 26 or UFC 132.
So why should you not write him off?
Faber still has all the tools to defeat Cruz. He has good striking, knockout power, quality wrestling and a solid submission game. No matter where the fight takes place, he is a threat. If we go back to their last meeting at UFC 132, Faber continued to be effective through all five rounds.
Faber landed cleanly on Cruz in the fourth round, briefly sitting the champion down on the canvas. The knockdown is notable for their rematch. Cruz took the fifth by turning up the pressure and scoring multiple takedowns, but neither man gassed.
This is MMA, where strange and unexpected things happen on the regular. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Faber clips Cruz much as he did in their second meeting, catches him in a submission like in their first fight or squeaks by on the judges' scorecards.
Discrediting a legitimate upper-echelon fighter such as Faber is borderline disrespectful and downright ignorant.
Lest we forget Faber is also a finisher. Of his nine UFC victories, only three have gone to a decision.
“The California Kid” has consistently competed against the best for over a decade, and this being the third meeting against Cruz, he won’t see anything he has never seen before. Faber will be fully prepared for his last chance at glory.
Faber is a future UFC Hall of Famer for everything he has done throughout his career, but he has to know this is his final shot at being a UFC champion. Knowing that, he will leave every ounce of energy in the cage this weekend. Cruz has never outclassed Faber, and he would be unlikely to do so at UFC 199.
One opening, one mistake is all it will take for Faber to capitalize and become a champion once again.
It’s an uphill battle for Faber, but he is a live dog in this fight. Don’t count him out.
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