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Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber is scheduled to face UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz for his title at UFC 132, and there's some well-documented bad blood between them. This rematch has a number of storylines, and the intensity of their mutual disdain has seemed to escalate lately. Cruz had this to say to MMAJunkie a few weeks ago in regards to Urijah:
"Since then [the poster thing], he's been the one calling me out. He's done a million YouTube videos, went on like a media frenzy, and just done a bunch of YouTube videos running his mouth. After that, that's when everything started up. That's when I started talking because I'm not just going to let him keep running his mouth about me for no reason."
Faber was a guest on MMA Fight Corner Radio recently, and didn't mince words when asked to sum up Cruz in one word (quotes via fiveknuckles.com):
"Immature," Faber said. "I was forced to spend some time with him this last week with the Marines in Camp Pendleton in San Diego and it was fun. He can actually take a joke, and we were at each other's throat a little bit at the beginning there. He's a decent guy, but he has a lot of growing up to do, and me beating him up is going to be part of that process."
If you don't already know, the whole thing started back before their first matchup at WEC 26. Faber discussed it back in 2009, and called him immature back then as well:
"I'm not one to dwell on the past too much, but I really don't care for the guy (Cruz) too much and I'd love to go down there (to bantamweight) and fight him at some point. The whole thing was, basically, we signed these posters for charity, and give them to a lot of people as gifts. The fighters take some and all the fighters sign them. The day of the fight, he was just being basically an immature punk and signing all over my face with his signature. So you know, for me, who's a good sport and not a little punk, it would kind of piss me off. I don't really like the guy very much. I don't know him too well. We've spoken here and there and I'm not like trying to fight him when I see him or anything, but it kind of says a little something about his character."
He offered up a bit of a different take this time around:
"You know, it was partially that, and that was actually the first time we fought," Faber explained. "It's the posters that you sign and give away to charity. He was basically signing his name over my face which is just kind of immature, and I don't know exactly what was going on in his head.
"But then you figure, 'Okay, that's pre-fight stuff. Maybe he's trying to hype the fight or whatever the deal is.' And then the fight's over and I beat him fair and square in the first round and, you know, I still hear him being immature and putting that poster up in the gym and just kinda talking trash. So do I really dislike the guy? I can't really say I know him all too well, so I can't say I really dislike him, but I just think some of the things he's done has made a statement about him, and now I'm having to cross paths with the guy so anything you see [in the pre-fight hype] is real."
Faber goes on to discuss a number of other issues on the show (which is transcribed in the fiveknuckles article link above) including who the top P4P fighters are right now, and how the Jon Jones/Rashad Evans situation would never be something at would occur at Team Alpha Male. "But then you figure, 'Okay, that's pre-fight stuff. Maybe he's trying to hype the fight or whatever the deal is.' And then the fight's over and I beat him fair and square in the first round and, you know, I still hear him being immature and putting that poster up in the gym and just kinda talking trash. So do I really dislike the guy? I can't really say I know him all too well, so I can't say I really dislike him, but I just think some of the things he's done has made a statement about him, and now I'm having to cross paths with the guy so anything you see [in the pre-fight hype] is real."
