Urijah Faber hopes rib injury wouldn't delay Dominick Cruz title fight

BOSTON – Although the stars seem to be aligning for a potential rubber match between new UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and rival Urijah Faber, one possible hiccup awaits.

In Sunday’s UFC Fight Night 81 headliner, Cruz (21-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) dethroned bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw (12-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) via narrow split decision to claim the belt.

After a series of injuries cost him the UFC belt in 2014 and resulted in just one fight during a fought-year span, Cruz’s FOX Sports 1-televised victory over Dillashaw at Boston’s TD Garden marked a return to the top level of the sport.

So, what’s next? Cruz isn’t too worried about it, at least not right now. But potential challengers are lining up, and Faber (33-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) was the first to push for it immediately after the fight.

Faber defeated Cruz in a 2007 WEC title fight. It remains Cruz’s only career loss, which he lated avenged at UFC 132 in 2011. Does a rubber match – one initially expected to take place in 2012 but canceled after a Cruz injury – await? Faber is hopeful, though there’s one concern.

“I have a little bruise on my rib or something on my rib,” Faber, who’s ranked No. 5 in MMAjunkie/USA TODAY Sports MMA bantamweight rankings, told MMAjunkie after UFC Fight Night 81. “Maybe it’s a slight fracture. Something’s going on with my rib, but I’m good. I can move around. I can jog. I can shadowbox. But I don’t want to put a lot of pressure on it.”

Has he consulted with a doctor?

“I have not,” he said. “I’ve been busy, man. I’m busier when I don’t have a fight (scheduled) than when I do.”

Cruz, who will take over the No. 1 spot when our rankings are updated on Tuesday, has no shortage of options. In addition to Faber, he faces the possibility of an immediate rematch with Dillashaw, and if healed from injuries of his own, No. 3-ranked Raphael Assuncao (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is also a possibility.

As for what Cruz wants, Faber didn’t seem like a priority.

“I don’t even want to talk about that guy; we’re still talking about him?” Cruz said. “How many title shots has he had?”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 81, check out the UFC Events section of the site.