Urijah Faber Says Cruz Is In Trouble Against ‘Killashaw’
Former WEC featherweight champion and UFC 181 bantamweight Urijah Faber is somewhat flying under the radar at December’s blockbuster event. His bout against the relatively un-hailed Francisco Riveira lacks storyline and relevance. Nonetheless, it’s a chance to see one of the most exciting current fighters in action for his 39th outing.
Faber’s Team Alpha Male stable mate TJ Dillashaw has done what “The California Kid” could not on two occasions, and that is to beat Renan Barao. In doing so at UFC 173, “The Viper” took the bantamweight title back to Sacramento, CA, and then came the return of Dominick Cruz.
After being forced to give up his title due to two years worth of career-threatening injuries, “The Dominator” came back and smashed Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 178. The former champion was granted a crack at Dillashaw and his former title, in quite an inspiring turn around. Talking to MMAMania.com, Faber says that his team mate will easily overcome Cruz:
“Cruz is a great fighter and the killer instinct is what’s been missing. But TJ is nothing but killer instinct. I call him ‘Killashaw,’ he is a wild man, so he is going to be bad news for Cruz. “
So what of “TCK” fighting on yet another prelims card? Whilst being a very sell-able PPV name, Faber says that it’s more about getting his name out to a wider audience:
“People are always looking for reasons to get all riled up,” said Faber. “The bottom line is more people are going to see me on that space, it’s the same exact pay for me. The sponsors that I wear are my companies for the most part. With Torque, MMA Geek, MMA Draft, these are all my companies. I want more eyes to see them. I want more people to experience a Urijah Faber fight. That is how I built my name in this sport, fighting on Versus in the WEC. Rather than having them cashing out for the pay-per-view change, I’d rather have a bunch of eyes on me.”
“The reason I’m in this sport is not only because I love it, but because I think I’m the best. All I can do is go out and prove that every single time. When that time comes, where I’m in the position to capitalize, you know I am going to come swinging and come whole heartedly. I still believe I can do it. Who knows what is going to happen with the whole division?” said Faber. “Right now don’t really feel like fighting TJ Dillashaw. If that were the case and they did offer up that fight and they try to make that happen. That would be something he and I would have to discuss with our management.”
It’s always great to watch Urijah Faber fight, and I expect UFC 181 will be no different. It would be hard to argue against a big fight for Faber if he is victorious this time around, and he’ll probably resume his role as a PPV seller when that time comes.
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