Faber-Cruz Rematch Booked for UFC 132 in July

Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber will tangle once again in July. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

The UFC announced via Twitter on Saturday that Faber will challenge for Cruz’s bantamweight title on July 2 at UFC 132, expected to take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The rematch had been the topic of much discussion since Faber, former featherweight kingpin of World Extreme Cagefighting, made the drop to 135 pounds last spring. At WEC 26 in March 2007, the “California Kid” successfully defended his belt against Cruz, who submitted to a first-round guillotine choke in his WEC debut.

Faber has notched back-to-back wins at bantamweight, having made the drop after a brutal five-round decision loss at the hands of current UFC 145-pound champ Jose Aldo last April. The 31-year-old Team Alpha Male leader made his bantamweight debut in style, choking unconscious tough Japanese import Takeya Mizugaki in November. In his March 19 UFC debut, Faber took a hard-earned decision over onetime WEC bantamweight champ Eddie Wineland.

Cruz, 25, has not tasted defeat since his loss to Faber, the lone blemish on his 17-1 record. Currently on the mend from long-delayed hand surgery, Cruz will make his Octagon debut and first defense of his new hardware against his old nemesis. The “Dominator” was last seen living up to his moniker by dismantling challenger Scott Jorgensen over 25 minutes at the last-ever WEC event in December.