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Urijah Faber getting ready to fight at Bantamweight and really wants Dominic Cruz to lose
By Zach Arnold | August 16, 2010
I was listening to Larry Pepe’s interview with Urijah Faber from last week and there were quite a few interesting news items to come out of the interview.
(I didn’t transcribe the portion about his new business deal with K-Swiss.)
Here’s the portion of the interview talking about when he will return to action:
LARRY PEPE: “So, what’s the timetable do you think for a return to action? If you’re getting back to regular training next week, when do you think you’ll be ready to go?”
URIJAH FABER: “Well, I wanted to fight September 30th (Colorado) but I figured a month because I don’t really ever get out of shape. I don’t remember being out of shape as a kid or anything, so… as long as I’m able-bodied, I wanted to fight but I don’t think they were able to put me on that card just because they already had it drawn out and the budget probably changes and everything else so I think November is what they’re looking at for me.”
LARRY PEPE: “OK, and it was supposed to be (Takeya) Mizugaki and when you had to pull out, he did not get re-booked. Do you think it’s going to be him? Do you think he’s waiting for the fight with you?”
URIJAH FABER: “Well, when I told them that I was going to fight in September, I wanted to fight in September, I think that was the plan is you know to ask him if he wanted to wait and I think he wanted to wait for September but I don’t know about November so I mean it’s going to be up to him and up to the WEC folks but either way for me it doesn’t matter.”
That’s the item that will get the most attention. What I thought was most interesting from the interview was the discussion regarding his knee injury/health and why he hates Dominic Cruz, who Joseph Benavidez fights this Wednesday night at WEC 50 (live on Versus).
Discussing the knee injury and making 135 pounds (Bantamweight)
LARRY PEPE: “Talk to me about the knee. How’s it feeling and exactly what happened with the injury?”
URIJAH FABER: “I basically was just training hard… and just kind of heard a weird pop in the knee and it ended up hurting the MCL, which it was kind of an a-typical injury and it healed up pretty quickly. They said, you know, 4-6 weeks and it’s been about 5 now and I feel great. I just ran four miles yesterday and I’ve been doing everything and just being a little cautious on it but it was just a loud pop, a minor tear.”
LARRY PEPE: “So, you didn’t have to have any type of surgical procedure or scope to get it repaired?”
URIJAH FABER: “No. It’s the least… severe of all the knee injuries, so it’s the one that they let heal on its own and I was happy to hear that.”
LARRY PEPE: “Awesome. So, it’s feeling pretty good now? You sound like you’re a week away from getting back into training.”
URIJAH FABER: “Yeah, I’m about a week away and I’ve been doing a lot of different stuff. Aside from that and staying in shape and taking care of some business and stuff, so it’s been good.”
LARRY PEPE: “Very good. So, Urijah, is the same leg that took the punishment from (Jose) Aldo or is it the other side?”
URIJAH FABER: “It’s the same one. Yeah.”
LARRY PEPE: “It is the same one. Do you think that played into it at all?”
URIJAH FABER: “Uh, I don’t think so. I mean, it was, I mean my leg’s been fine for a while. I’ve been training on it for over a month and I basically just had my one of my training partners hook my leg and kind of pull it in a strange direction and then it made a weird, weird noise and I mean it was just, it was directly from that. It wasn’t from anything else.”
LARRY PEPE: “Got ya. Now, do you think that it had anything to do with you having to make this cut to 135? Because I’ve seen people kind of throw that theory around a little bit.”
URIJAH FABER: “No, not at all. I mean, I really haven’t started cutting dramatically. All I did was change up my eating habits a little bit. I wasn’t starting to cut. I was walking around about 152, you know getting down to 148 which is pretty typical for me when I’m not trying to gain weight so… it was just a freak thing. The guy I was training with is one of our best guys, Dustin Akbari, and he’s a 168, 170 and just the pressure of the way he yanked my leg and you know the position I was in standing up is the cause.”
LARRY PEPE: “Is this the first time that you had to pull out of a fight because of injury?”
URIJAH FABER: “Um… This is the first time that I have actually had to pull out. I mean, there’s been cases where I probably should have pulled out, you know, and that was earlier in my career but this is one where I had definitely wouldn’t have been able to use my leg when I needed to so, yeah.”
LARRY PEPE: “So, what are you walking around at now?”
URIJAH FABER: “Uh, I’m still about 153 to 155, depending on the meal and that’s very typical for me.”
LARRY PEPE: “And do you see yourself having trouble making 135? Because a lot of people look at how much more muscular you are now than when you used to wrestle at 133 and question it. So, where do you see it? Do you think it’s going to be a challenge and do you think it’s going to effect your performance the first time you have to fight at that weight?”
URIJAH FABER: “Um… I don’t it’ll effect my performance, but it’s definitely not going to be fun. I mean, I dreaded cutting to 133s in college. I was doing it for six months out of the year and basically I… you know, became accustomed to doing it. This is going to be a lot easier, I mean… as of right now, I’ve put on some weight so the cut itself is going to be difficult but it’s going to be three pounds heavier. It’s 136 for me instead of 133 and I get 24 hours to recuperate and before I had one hour to recuperate and I’m really the same sized person. I haven’t grown at all, unfortunately, wish I could have put a couple of inches on but it didn’t happen so, you know, I’m the same sized dude and it’s not going to be fun but it should be fairly simple.”
LARRY PEPE: “And when you put on the weight back on, how heavy do you think you’ll be able to get back up in that 24 hours?”
URIJAH FABER: “I’m hoping to get back up to about 152. Man, I don’t know how realistic that is once I get down to it, but… I think the way most guys do it if I follow the same kind of game plan I should be able to get up to 152 because that’s about where I feel that my body weight wants to sit. You’re talking to a guy that I, when I first started fighting seven years ago it wasn’t legal in California, there wasn’t many options for fighters and the smaller guys in general didn’t have much of a place so I fought 155 my first two fights and I said, hey, I’m going to go down and fight at 145. I was walking around at 149 and I became a world champion at 145. I had a goal on my wall to put on weight over the last six years and I’ve been trying to put on weight and it’s been a slow process but I’ve always been having to stuff myself and stuff, trying to get up to 158 was kind of an ordeal and now my body weight just sits around 153, you know that’s where I’m supposed to be and I’m sure I’m going to be more competitive at 135 and probably go back up to 145 and try it out again, too. There’s all sorts of stuff to do, too.”
LARRY PEPE: “So, really, Urijah, this going to 135 is kind of like you going home. Like because it sounds like you fought a lot at these other weights because I don’t think 135 existed at the time and the level of competition.”
URIJAH FABER: “Yeah, it was basically, my option was go up to 145 and… make a home there because that was still down from the weights that they were offering. It just so happened that I was the best in the world at that weight and so there was no need to really drop down and I think now the way Mixed Martial Arts is getting and the guys that I’m fighting at probably about 15 pounds larger than I am. I know Jose Aldo probably gets to about 168, 170, and Mike Brown is in the same boat and I mean Manny Gamburyan has competed at 180-something before and the heaviest I’ve ever been is 164. I hit that for about a couple of hours and then I, you know, felt sick, had shortness of breath, went to sleep and lost like 4-5 pounds over night. So, uh, I’ve got a smaller frame and this is really the spot I’m supposed to be.”
Why Urijah Faber is no fan of Dominic Cruz
LARRY PEPE: “We got WEC 50 coming up. A guy you’re very fond of, Dominick Cruz, he’s certainly been very open about how much you like him. He takes on Joseph (Benavidez). Talk to me about that fight. I’m sure you think Joseph’s going to win. Tell me how and why.”
URIJAH FABER: “Uh, basically I think in that fight Joseph’s the better fighter. I think Dominick Cruz’s advantage is that he’s a little bit bigger naturally but Joseph’s been putting on weight since the last time they’ve fought, he’s gotten on a serious conditioning, strength & conditioning program and the difference was the takedowns there. Dominick wasn’t really doing anything with the takedowns. He was taking him down and Joseph was getting back up but that was the difference in the fight. So, Joseph is aware of that now, he’s thinking a little bit more of avoiding and being more offensive with his wrestling and basically has learned a lot from the fight and gotten a lot better.”
LARRY PEPE: “Well, I joke about your feelings about Dominick. We know he’s a guy, he’s one of the only people I’ve ever heard you, if not the only person, I’ve ever heard you speak out that you really don’t like. How anxious would be to rematch him? You beat him a while back. Let’s say that Joseph wins and Dominick loses, would you want to fight him? Would you only want continue moving towards a title? Where is he on your radar? Because it’s always seemed to me like a fight that you wanted.”
URIJAH FABER: “Um… On my radar, he’s a guy that I beat and it’s a.. it’s a minute and 40 seconds or something like that when we fought. I can’t remember how long it was but he’s gotten a lot better and I’d love to have that fight again. I think there’s some super fights out there for me and maybe Miguel Torres and Mizugaki, those are two fights right now that I’m looking at but we’ll kind of see what happens with Joseph and maybe go back up and I still have plans to go to Thailand and go to Holland and work with some serious kickboxing and go back up eventually and fight 145s again so, there’s a lot of different options for me. Dominick Cruz is a guy I would definitely like to fight again and yeah, there aren’t many people I don’t like out there. The guy rubs me the wrong way and for a lack of a better way to describe him, he seems kind of like a dope. I read his thing in the UFC magazine about how he had to grow up and become a man because he was kicked out of his apartment or wherever it was for throwing parties when he was 19 when his Mom was there and then he had to grow up and be a man. I’m like, what kind of sob story is that, dude, you know? He’s throwing parties when he’s 19 when his Mom leaves town and so she kicked him out and he had to be off on his own? Dude, you’re 19, bro, quit throwing parties at your Mom’s house when she’s out of town. So, pretty much, legal adult there so I don’t know, I mean he just rubs me the wrong way, the way he was disrespectful when we first fought and just the way he carries himself and I can’t wait to see Joseph beat him up.”
Topics: Media, MMA, WEC, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Faber dissing on a dude for throwing parties when Faber’s fight team is basically just a frat who lives together in a party house.
I think Cruz beats Benevidez in their rematch. I didn’t see anything in their first fight that made me think this one will go any different. Besides, Benevidez should really be fighting at 125 pounds.
AS for Cruz/Faber 2…. If it happens…. It’s a toss up. I know Faber won easily in their first fight, but this is a very different fight.
First, Cruz has a lot of confidence and improved footwork. Second, Faber isn’t exactly riding his on confidence.
Would be a fun fight to watch.