UFC on Versus 6 Conference Call: Dominick Cruz says his career is bigger than beating Urijah Faber

UFC on Versus 6 is set to take place this Saturday night from from the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. and will be headlined by a Bantamweight title clash between division Champion Dominick "The Dominator" Cruz and challenger Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson, while Heavyweight strikers Stefan "The Skyscraper" Struve and Pat Barry go head to head in the co-main event. Also featured will be a Welterweight showdown pitting Anthony "Rumble" Johnson against Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman and a Lightweight rematch between "Handsome" Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig.

Below are highlights from today's UFC on Versus 6: Cruz vs. Johnson Conference Call, which included headliners Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson, as well as Stefan Struve and Pat Barry (via MMAMania.com):

Dominick Cruz

• My career is bigger than beating Faber. There are more goals past that. I wanted show the way I'd been improving myself. I set up new goals for myself and I'm prepared for Demetrious. There's a lot of things he's good at and he's got a lot of different tools he brings to the table.

• From the things that I see, (Demetrious Johnson) has momentum behind him. He's considered an underdog and I know how that feels. I came up very similar to him early in my career working a full time job and juggling that with my fight career. You've got all these naysayers saying you can't beat so-and-so. I know what it's like to be an underdog. He's got a big heart, great cardio and he's got good speed and good rhythm. Something he does that other people don't do is he's got a rhythm in his stand-up style. He moves in a certain way and that's something I'll adjust to as the fight goes on and something that I've been preparing for in my camp.

Demetrious Johnson

• I am not working a full time job anymore. I gave that up once I got the call that I was gonna be fighting Dominick. I thought it's a title fight and Dominick is on a different level than anybody else and I felt I owed it to the fans and my family to go full time. I worked construction before, run a machine, drive a fork lift, it was a labor job. I did it for all my fights, Brad Pickett, Miguel Torres. After those fights I'd have to wake up and go to work the next Monday. When I broke my leg, I went back to work that Monday.

• I look at it this way. I could go out there and Dominick Cruz could destroy me and I go back home and keep on going or I can go out there and put on a fantastic show and go back home and enjoy my life and go to the gym and be ready for my next fight. I'm ready to get more time in the Octagon. It's gonna be a hard fight but I'm going to go out there and perform and see what happens. If I can keep myself on that path, it just goes better for me that way. Anything can happen.

Stefan Struve

• I plan on using my reach and picking (Pat Barry) apart, but I love to fight and brawl. I think my reach will be a big factor. The last fight I made a stupid mistake of coming in with a knee strike when he was coming in with a punch. I've been working on that with new coaches too. I'm always working with getting better and getting on the outside and using my reach the way I should. I plan on showing that on Saturday.

• When (Sean) McCorkle started talking trash on twitter, I didn't know the guy. This time, me and Pat know each other for 2 1/2 years and we've always been cool with each other. This isn't trash talk, more of hyping up the fight and people are looking forward to it. Getting the fans engaged. This is gonna be real cool.

Pat Barry

• In all actuality, I personally don't think reach will be that big of a deal in this fight. Everybody that Stefan fights and trains with is shorter than he is and everybody I spar with is bigger than I am. How often does Stefan fight a guy that's taller than him. I don't run into heavyweights that are shorter than I am. I'm accustomed to guys being taller than I am and Stefan is accustomed to guys being shorter than he is. I don't think fight will make it any different.

• I brought in this huge kickboxer Maurice Greene to help me prepare for Struve for three weeks. He's 6'7 so that's a big help. I also had my coach Marty Morgan stand on a stool sometimes for me to throw punches and kicks at.

Photo: Scott Hirano