UFC 132 Results: Dominick Cruz Defends His Title Against Urijah Faber in a Five Round Decision

Simply put, these two do not get along. Going back to some stupid beef over Dominick Cruz not being on the WEC 26 poster, Cruz and Faber have been bitter rivals for several years. Cruz is borderline obsessed with avenging his only career loss that came at the hands of Faber. Urijah Faber is looking to reestablish himself as a champion, this time at 135 lbs. Regardless, both men epitomize the exciting styles that make the Bantamweight and Featherweight divisions so electrifying.

Surprise, surprise, neither man wants to touch gloves to start the fight. Cruz opens the action with a straight punch that lands on Faber’s butt chin. Cruz immediately goes into full on dance mode. Faber ducks under and tries for a takedown, but Cruz expertly defends it and keeps the fight on its feet. Two minutes in and Cruz is clearly dominating this fight so far, as Faber is having a hard time connecting. As I write that Faber connects with a punch-knee combo that briefly knocks Cruz down. Cruz gets back up, and narrowly avoids a huge hook thrown by Faber. Faber tries to move in but Cruz times it out and delivers with a uppercut. Cruz’s pace may be taking a toll on himself, as he is taking big, deep breaths with over a minute left in the round. Faber tied him up against the cage, and connects with a strong two punch combo on the way out. Cruz attempted a flying knee that missed, and ended the round trying to land a single leg takedown off of a caught kick. The first round was close with Cruz delivering more strikes and maintaining octagon control, but Faber was doing well with delivering damage off of the counter.

The second starts with a quick right delivered by Urijah. They continue to evenly exchange in the center of the ring. Cruz connects with two strong shots to Faber’s jaw, but the California Kid takes them in stride. Cruz tries with a kick, but eats a counter on the way out. Faber hits him with another strong right. There’s a whole lot of head movement going on in the middle of the round, but not a lot connecting. Cruz found some success going body-head, but failed to deliver any real damage. He follows it up by going head-body, this time with kicks. Cruz is still bouncing around, but he definitely seems to be gassing with about a minute left in the round. Cruz tried to work his way in again, but this time ate a big right from Faber that sent him stumbling back. Rather than rush in, Urijah backed up as to not spend a lot of energy. With thirty seconds left in the round, Dominick lands a takedown that may help him secure the round. He ends the second with a two kick, two punch combination.

This fight is very close as we begin the third round. Faber continues his success landing punches of the counter as Cruz dives in. Cruz ducks under, almost feinting a takedown, and lands a quick succession of strikes. Faber peppers Cruz with counters as he continues his dancing chicken technique. Cruz lands solid with a combination that seems to at least temporarily shake Faber’s foundation. As I write that, Faber ducks under and secures a takedown, but is quickly reversed by Cruz. Both men continue to scramble, and eventually find their way back to their feet. Cruz throws a headkick that is blocked by Faber, but follows it up with a straight right that finds some more success. Faber answers by landing a winging right of his own. Dominick tries to land another takedown as the round comes to a close, but is unsuccessful.

As we enter the championship rounds, it would appear that Cruz is ahead on the scorecards. Faber is connecting off the counter, but Cruz is getting the best of the standup. He continues this at the start of the fourth by landing a quick combination. Of course it was "quick", everything these two do is quick. Cruz lands another solid right hook, that forces Faber to back out of the pocket. Faber lands an inside leg kick, and follows it up with a big right hook that causes Cruz to temporarily lose his footing. He regains his composure, but he has definitely lost a step now. Dominick answers with a right hand followed by a body kick that lands flush. Cruz ducks under for another takedown attempt, but Faber manages to stuff it and stand back up. Faber is getting the better of the stand up in this round, as he is starting to time out Cruz’s head movement. Cruz ties Urjiah up against the cage, and that’s where the round comes to an end.

Going into the fifth and final round, I would definitely say it was Dominick Cruz’s fight, but it is really close. Cruz opens the fifth with an attempted flying knee, that initially seems to miss before we see Faber slightly wobble. Cruz feints a superman punch, before ducking under for a takedown which is briefly successful. Cruz temporarily has Faber’s back against the cage, but Urijah is able to circle away. Cruz tries to duck under again, but Faber latches onto his neck to threaten a guillotine. Seeing as it’s the fifth round, Cruz was able to slip his head out. Cruz ducks under again, and this time lands a clean takedown. Faber scrambles underneath and stands back up before Cruz lands another takedown. Like the good wrestler that he is, Faber refuses to let his back stay on the mat and manages to stand back up. Under a minute and a half remaining as both men continue their dancing in the center of the octagon. Both men briefly exchange, before Cruz is able to land yet another takedown with about thirty seconds left in the fight. Cruz tries another takedown, but Faber is able to stuff it as the fight comes to an end.

Both men walked to their corners with their hands held high, and it’s hard to argue with either of them. We go to the judges’ scorecards, who have it 50-45, 49-46, 48-47 in favor of Dominick Cruz. To say that Cruz was emphatic with his victory, is an understatement. It was very obvious that his loss to Faber at WEC 26 was a huge motivating factor going into this fight. While it was close (much closer than 50-45), Dominick Cruz deserved the victory as he landed more strikes and even more takedowns. That being said, I certainly wouldn’t be against seeing Cruz v. Faber III.