After a four-year hiatus, former UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz will make his return to the octagon as he’s set to fight current title holder, Henry Cejudo.
However, before the two competitors clash at UFC 249 this weekend, the promotion has uploaded another fight with the former 135-pound champion, which was when Cruz defended the Bantamweight Championship against his long-time foe, Urijah Faber.
Before transitioning over to the UFC in 2011, Cruz was a dominant force within World Extreme Cagefighting. Though the California native lost his first encounter against Faber at WEC 26 for the Featherweight Championship, Cruz bounced back with four wins before receiving a chance at the bantamweight belt at WEC 47.
The 35-year-old put away Brian Bowles in a second-round TKO at the pay-per-view event to capture the WEC Bantamweight title and Cruz went on to successfully defend the championship against Joseph Benavidez (via split decision at WEC 50) and Scott Jorgensen (via unanimous decision at WEC 53) before meeting Faber for the second time at UFC 132.
Since dropping the WEC featherweight title, Faber’s record has been a mixed bag; however, the California native did enter the contest on a solid two-fight winning streak thanks to his victories over Takeya Mizugaki (via technical submission at WEC 52) and Eddie Wineland (via unanimous decision at UFC 128).
Not surprisingly, both men gave strong performances that saw Dominick Cruz avenge his previous loss against Faber several years earlier. Check out the excellent match-up between the two bantamweights below: