Faber: Cruz looks flabbier
“If you look at their body structure and everything else, TJ Dillashaw looks smaller, Dominick Cruz looks flabbier. I’ll tell you right now, I’m going to look the same.”
Urijah Faber appeared recently on the always-must-listen-to Submission Radio for a wide-ranging discussion, including his thoughts on the recent title fight between TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz, who he thinks won, biased commentary, if he’s relieved that he doesn’t have to fight his former friend TJ Dillashaw, finally being able to settle the score with Dominick Cruz and complete the trilogy, him and Cruz messaging each other over the last few years, Dillashaw and Cruz not looking the same physically, why he’s the only logical option for the next title shot, Duane Ludwig’s comments on him barely beating journeymen and what he’s done for TJ Dillashaw, his thoughts on Joseph Benavidez and Lance Palmer training in Colorado with TJ, Conor McGregor claiming he wants to capture the belt at welterweight, and lots more.
On Duane Ludwig’s comments about him not deserving to fight anyone in the top 5
(Laughs) That guy, at a 135 pounds, being a division-one wrestler and ranked number 12 in the world – or whatever he was ranked – and he hasn’t fought any of the guys in the top ten except for Iuri Alcântara – who he beat. I would like to see Duane go one round with that guy and see how he does against him. (laughs) The guy’s a jackal, man. I mean, where does he get off – I mean I know he fought in the UFC and, you know, he did ok here and there – but where does he get off saying anything about my positioning in this world? It’s sad.
On when Urijah would like to come back and fight Cruz and if it’s an issue with Dominick possibly needing to heal this foot
Yeah it could probably take a while. I actually have a little rib injury myself, I need to work on a couple of things myself, so I’m not too worried about how long we’re going to wait. I’ve been waiting a long time (laughs), you know what I mean? So it’s not like a little wait is gonna bother me. And at this point in my career, I want those fights. You know, the ones that matter. I want to fight for the title. I want to fight a rival; a person I have a storyline with, someone that I know I can beat.
On if people saying that because Urijah lost to Barao twice and TJ beat Barao twice and couldn’t beat Cruz, means that Faber is an underdog
Nah, that doesn’t matter. People don’t understand what kind of warriors they’re dealing with. I’ve been 13 years on an MMA path and 24 years as an athlete in the wrestling world, and almost 28 years as an athlete at a high level, between football and hockey. This is one of the top warriors on the planet. And internet warriors and real warriors don’t see eye to eye. So if there’s any doubters out there, they just don’t understand this is the game of anybody’s day. They can also say I beat Assuncao. Assuncao beat TJ. The other thing is, I took a fight with Barao because Cruz got injured, took it on two weeks’ notice and had a torn hamstring.
There’s a story to every single battle and I’m one of the top fighters in the world. I’ve been setting records – I think I have the most submissions in the history of the WEC, Pride and UFC together – and this is something I’ve dedicated my life to and it’s going to come to fruition when I get that belt.
If Faber thinks McGregor has a chance at moving up to welterweight and becoming the champion there after beating RDA
You never count anybody, but no. I mean I don’t think so, but who knows. Maybe. I don’t know how heavy the guy gets walking around. If he gets up to 190 pounds and then cuts down to 170, yeah I could see that. I mean, he’s a young guy, maybe he’s still growing or whatever. But I think he should worry about RDA first. He’s got a hole in his game whether he wants to admit it or not. His wrestling is a factor, his grappling is a factor. Maybe the one-punch hitter quitter is going to help against RDA – probably not. He’s going to really have to focus on his grappling for any of these big matches moving up, because we saw with Chad Mendes, man, Chad Mendes showed a little weakness.
If the McGregor fight is still on Faber mind
You know, the biggest thing for me is getting the belt at 135. In my opinion, both TJ and Cruz did not look as physically impressive as they have in their last fights. If you look at their body structure and everything else, TJ looks smaller, Cruz looks flabbier. I’ll tell you right now, I’m going to look the same. I’ve looked the same my whole life. and I think you’re going to see the best me and I don’t know if it’s going to be the best them.