QUOTABLES: UFC Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz discusses the origins of his feud with #1 contender Urijah Faber

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"In the beginning it had nothing to do with him at all. In the very beginning, it had to do with the fact that I wasn't even on the event poster and I was fighting him for a world title. That really got under my skin. So, my way of getting on the poster was to sign where I signed (over Faber's picture), and it ended up pissing him off. Since then, 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. Originally, it had nothing to do him, I felt like I deserved to be on that poster...

I feel like people just take what Faber says and go in stride with it and assume what he says is true ? because he tries to play this perfect identity. And, to be honest, I haven't been able to have quite the spotlight throughout my career that he's had ? just from the timeline and the things he's done and when I did it.

That being said, people are going to take the word of the person they know more than the person that is kind of coming out of nowhere, and I kind of came out of nowhere. So, that automatically makes me the bad guy. And if that's the guy he wants to make me out to be, go for it. But sooner or later people are going to know the truth about me, and they're going to know I'm here to fight. They're going to know I'm here to win. They're going to know I'm a good guy and a good champion."

-UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz talks to MMAJunkie.com about the origins of his feud with Urijah Faber following the announcement of their rematch for UFC 132 in July.

Penick's Analysis: Cruz will have a big chip on his shoulder and a lot to prove when he meets Faber in July. Coming in as the unknown despite being the champion, Cruz will be out to prove that he deserves the accolades of fans and writers, and that he's a better fighter than Faber in 2011. He'll have his chance to do that on July 2, and if he can beat Faber in the rematch he'll have done so against the largest audience to ever see him fight.

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