UFC: Cruz vs. Faber II Conference Call Highlights

Reigning Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Urijah Faber will headline the stacked UFC 132 fight card, set to take place July 2nd from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The co-main event will feature a Middleweight war between Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben, while former Light Heavyweight champ Tito Ortiz takes on Ryan Bader.  Also scheduled is a Welterweight clash pitting Carlos Condit against Dong Hyun Kim and a Lightweight tilt between Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman.

Below are highlights from today's Media Conference Call, which included headliners Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, as well as Wanderlei Silva and Chris Leben (Complete Audio at Bottom):

Dominick Cruz

• Of course it's more exciting to headline a (UFC) card like this.  I mean, not only are you on a card with guys like this, guys who I grew up watching: Tito Ortiz, Wanderlei Silva, even Leben has had a lot of wars that are very respectable.  I've been giving the opportunity to represent the 135-pound weight class for the first (Bantamweight) title fight in the (division's) first main event ever in the history of the UFC.  So it's an honor.

• I can see people saying that things (in the UFC) are a lot different, but it kind of plays a part in your brian and how you can dissect things in your brain.  I do a lot of mental preparation to be ready for these fights and I'm confident with the preparation that I've done for this fight.  

• I want to go out there and put a good show on.  My goal is to go out there and put a better show on than Wanderlei and Leben, because I know those guys are going to throw down.  I'm excited to just go out there and beat up Urijah.

• I think we're both here to fight and I'm a good sport.  I have no problem, especially after the win I'm going to get, with just being happy and shaking hands with Faber at the end of it.  I don't hate the guy, I don't wish him ill will.  I just want to prove that I'm a better fighter than him.

• I feel like fighting fixes everything - bottom line.  Once we punch each other in the face, fighting fixes everything. (Faber remarks: That's like the opposite of what my mom used to say, but we'll see [laughs]).

Urijah Faber

• I don't really stress about that kind of stuff (the affect a loss will have).  My lifestyle, my demeanor, and everything else is just like, I really enjoy what I'm doing all of the time. I've had 29 fights and I think 21 of them have been in some form of a title shot.  People have always asked me how it feels to be fighting in a title fight - if feels like home.

• There's a little bit more attached to it I think.  It's hard for me to go back and forth and remember how I felt before every single fight, but I know that I'm ready for this one, I'm excited for it and a little bit ancy.  So, I think the UFC brand doesn't really have anything to do with it.

• I definitely (feel like I have something to prove).  Bottom line is, I'm the best 135-pounder in the world and its my time to prove it.  There's no doubt in my mind that it's going to be a tough fight.  Dominick is a tough guy to track down, but on the other hand, I'm going to prove that I'm not the same guy he's been fighting, the guy he's been decisioning in all of his other fights.

• It's one thing when a guy wins and its another when he loses.  I've been on both ends of it, so lets see how (Cruz) reacts when he loses.  Thats going to be the tell-tale.  I'll be cool regardless. I have a hard time being enemies with people, but Dominick made it kind of easy.

Waderlei Silva

• (Being out for so long) was not so easy because I am a competitive guy.  I like to be in the octagon fighting.  I had a really tough year, I needed surgery, but I have unbelievable support from my fans.  My fans send me messages everyday and give me great support.  I want to show the real, and best, Wanderlei Silva for my fans around the world in this fight.

• We have a great camp (at Kings MMA). I train with Babalu (Renato Sobral), (Fabricio) Werdum, Shogun (Muaricio Rua).  This makes me strong.  I'm ready for everything inside the octagon in this fight: stand up, ground, takedowns, and my cardio is really good right now.  I have had the best camp in my life.

• Everybody wants to fight for the belt, of course I want to fight for the belt one day.  But, I can't talk about that right now, I've been out for one year and I'm coming back to fight a great fighter now.  I need to fight that fight first before I talk about the future.

• (Leben) is a really good fighter.  Sometimes he talks a lot, but he fights very well.  I think this is a really important fight for me.  I approached the boss and said I want to fight Chris Leben.  He asked me, "Why?"  I said, "Because I watch his fight with (Yoshihiro) Akiyama, he did very well." He has a style is like my style, he fights like me.  I know we can make one of the best fights of the year.  I don't love him, but I love money.  (Leben laughs and remarks: Let's get that bonus!)

Chris Leben

• I'm better than what they saw (against Brian Stann).  I've had my ups and downs for sure.  I want to go out and get back on the winning side of things and there's nothing bigger than a win over Wanderlei - that would be huge.

• I've had a lot of fights, I should have known better (against Brian Stann).  I think I just got a little comfortable.  I was feeling really good after my three-fight win streak and I underestimated Brian Stann a little bit.  I think the biggest thing that affected it was my diet.  I came in just a little bit too heavy and I cut to much weight.

• I'll be honest: I'm excited to fight Wanderlei, but I'm a little scared at the same time.  But, I think for me, that's a very motivating and driving emotion.  Regardless whether I win, lose, or draw, I want to at least go out and put on a fantastic show for the fans.

• In a way, its like be careful what you wish for (laughs). When Joe Silva (UFC match-maker) called and said, "Hey man, you got (the fight with Wanderlei Silva)." I went, "Oh... Guess I better stand training!"  A loss is never good.  I had to go to counseling about that loss (against Stann).  But, the fact that I get a fight like this, July 2nd, its my dream come true.

• We've all had our wins and losses, but its like that old saying, "You've got to get back up on that horse."  This is going to be my 19th fight in the UFC, so I've been around for a little while.  A loss isn't going to make me perform bad the next time. I don't lose all belief in myself or anything like that.  I look back at what worked and what didn't work.

• (On why he was a little scared when he got the Silva match) Have you seen him fight? He's an animal!  There's nothing more motivating than the fear of a coma (laughs).  

• Honestly, I'm so psyched to fight Wanderlei, he's one of my heroes.  Believe it or not, I really don't want to tell him this, but he's one of the reasons I really started.  I used to go get bootleg PRIDE videos and watch him and try to emulate some of the stuff he did. You got to beat the legend to be a legend and a passing of the torch is what I'm hoping for.

• I have fought guys in the past that, at the time, I thought were better fighters than me, but truth be told, in the end I ended up winning those fights.  I think looking back on my career, I have won a lot of fights that, on paper, I should have lost and that's just grit.  It's pretty easy to switch gears (when you admire an opponent), once they start swinging at you.