UFC champ Dominick Cruz on Urijah Faber fight, future challengers, 'exploding' division

He may be a biased party, but when it comes to the UFC bantamweight division, reigning champion Dominick Cruz said fight fans should expect some major action in the coming years.

After surrendering his title due to inactivity during a lengthy injury layoff, Cruz (21-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) recaptured the belt from T.J. Dillashaw (12-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) by split decision in January. Next, he said he’s ready to “gift” a title shot to his longtime rival Urijah Faber (33-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC).

Cruz, who’s dealt with multiple knee injuries in the past, is currently recovering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot. A date for his rubber match with Faber, who struck up a rivalry with Cruz in the WEC nearly a decade ago, hasn’t been set.

“My foot is feeling good,” Cruz, who’s working the analyst desk for this weekend’s UFC 196 coverage on FOX Sports 1, told MMAjunkie Radio. “It’s a step-by-step process. I’ve just to keep doing the rehab. Plantar fasciitis tendonitis isn’t one of those things that’s just magically fixed. It’s not a bone break. It’s where you have six weeks, and then the bone heals, and then you’re 100 percent good.”

The process could take a couple months before he’s able to officially enter a fight camp, so Cruz said his main priority right now is to rest his foot and train around it. But once back, he wants to get Faber “out of the picture” and open up opportunities for the new crop of bantamweights.

“You look at the guys in the division, and there are some killers coming up in the division,” he said. “There’s no question. It’s stacking up and stacking up, and it’s getting tougher and tougher with up-and-comers. But they’re still relatively unknown because the division is relatively unknown.”

For the man on top of the division, it’s an exciting time.

“Faber gets another shot, everybody wants to kill me, and it’s perfect,” Cruz joked. ” … I have a feeling everything in the 135-pound weight class is about to explode. You’re about to see nothing but crazy athletes. I think it can become one of the best divisions in the UFC, to be honest.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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