Cruz and Faber End Bitter Rivalry

In Sacramento on Saturday, Urijah Faber made his last triumphant walk from the Octagon. He had defeated Brad Pickett and bid farewell to the sport he had left such an impact on. Who else could greet him at the FOX desk, other than bitter rival and bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz?

The two had fought one last time in June, with Cruz dominating Faber on the way to a lopsided unanimous decision. After that fight, resentment still lingered. But on Saturday, Cruz and Faber shook hands and reflected on their long and rocky relationship.

Before Faber left the stage, Cruz offered his longtime foe a parting gift: a signed WEC poster advertising their first fight, a poster that had been the seed of their bitter feud. A young Cruz had once been incensed by being left off of that poster, and responded by signing his name over Faber’s face on every copy he could find.

On the final poster he signed, his name was etched in the corner, leaving Faber’s young face unmarked. An appropriate gift from one rival to another.

And of course, Cruz could not help but throw a parting shot: He promised Faber that when he faced his Team Alpha Male comrade Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207 in two weeks, he would knock him out.