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Filed under: Fighting, UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator
We're not going to lie to you: it's a slow week in the MMA world. Maybe it's also a much-needed break after Zuffa's breakneck pace of the last several weeks. But as long as there's a lull in the action, we might as well take the opportunity to calm down, sip some soothing chamomile tea, and discuss the changing landscape around us like civilized human beings. That's what Mike Chiappetta and I did recently. Everything except for the chamomile. That stuff turns out to be pretty gross. 1. If you're Bellator, do you rush to sign Nate Marquardt (assuming Strikeforce toes the Zuffa line and steers clear of him), or is he still damaged goods at the moment? Chiappetta: Rushing would probably be a bit overeager. Right now, Marquardt is like the newly single hot girl at the junior high school dance. All the boys are checking her out, waiting for just the right moment to pounce, but not knowing quite when to proceed. If I'm going to take this disturbing analogy even further, the girl really wants to be back with her jerk boyfriend (UFC) even though he's moved on, but being surrounded by girlfriends (management team) is giving her some strength from rushing into anything else. OK, at this point referring to Nate as a girl has gotten really weird. That's my cue to turn it over to Ben. But before I do, I will say that I don't think Bellator should rush in because Marquardt's going to take his time and see what's out there. Marquardt's preference is probably to stay in the Zuffa family, so he may give Strikeforce a chance to make an offer before heading on the open market. At that point, Bellator may be a great option for him, particularly if they do move on to Spike in 2012 as our MMA Fighting sources have repeatedly suggested. Fowlkes: Absolutely Bellator should rush in. To stick with your increasingly troubling analogy, Mike, it's the best chance for them to date out of their league, if only for a short time. Never underestimate the power of the rebound, especially when your ex is out there spreading negative information about you. Marquardt's vulnerable right now, and Bellator could use him. Slick down that cowlick, throw on some cologne from the bathroom vending machine, get over there and throw out your best opening line, Bellator! But maybe the better question is, should Marquardt entertain these advances? To that one, I have to say no. There's just no upside to it right now. He still doesn't know how things will shake out in the long run, and Bellator doesn't have enough good welterweights (or middleweights) for him to fight. The thing to do now is wait and let the emotional scars heal. Go see a movie with your friends, then shop for fake diamond earrings at Claire's in the mall, maybe see if there's a special on Justin Bieber posters -- that is, if you have time before your mom comes to pick you, driving right up to the door and honking the horn repeatedly just to embarrass you. Okay, I apologize. This analogy, while creepy, is really tough to resist.
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LAS VEGAS - Book it now. Five more rounds might be on the way between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber. Cruz and Faber traded punches, knees, kicks, takedowns and awesome scrambles and produced a very tough tilt to score. After 25 minutes of action, the judges gave a unanimous decision, 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 to Cruz, the UFC bantamweight champion, in the main event of UFC 132 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
This was a revenge fight for the champion Cruz (18-1, 1-0 UFC). As a neophite, he lost in 2007 to Faber at WEC 26. Faber went onto a high level of stardom as the sport's best lighter weight fighter while Cruz worked in the background to improve his game and add incredible movement to his arsenal. The 5-foot-9 San Diegan also dropped down a weight class to 135 pounds. In the final days of the WEC, Cruz got on a hot streak and won the bantamweight title. When the UFC folded the 145 and 135 pound weight classes into the bigger promotion, Cruz was handed the title, but there was still unfinished business to legitimize the title. He had to beat Faber.
"I really hyped myself up for this fight. I wanted this fight for four years. I've been hungry for this fight, sweating for this fight, bleeding for this fight," Cruz said during the postfight press conference. "I got it. I won it. I'm happy."
The judges were slightly split on the fight with Sal D'Amato scoring it 5-0 for Cruz while Glenn Trowbridge had it 3-2.
"At the end of the fight, I said 'I'm glad I don't have to score that fight.' It was a very good fight back and forth and we'll see what happens," White responded when asked about a third fight some time down the road. "Third fights are always fun especially when they're as good as that one was. It was a great fight, very technical fight. It was MMA at its finest."
Faber (25-5, 1-1 UFC) and his corner looked devastated and sort of shocked by the decision. After getting blasted by Faber shots, Cruz hit the deck on three occasions, but his ability to bounce up quickly, may have nullified the flash knockdowns.
"You never really know how a fight is going to go until you get in there. I thought I landed the heavier punches. It just wasn't enough output on my side. I didn't finish him. I felt like it could've gone either way. I felt like I won the fight," said a gracious Faber.

Cruz admitted that he'd been blasted a few times by Faber.
"That dude hits hard. His hand are very fast," Cruz said. "They were prepared. His hands were good."
According to Compustrike, Cruz outlanded Faber 99-74, but the champ was knocked down three times. He scored with the judges by converting on 6-of-11 takedowns. Although it should be pointed that not once did Cruz ever really settle Faber down on the ground.
"We're both reaction fighters and was trying not to react too much to his movement, just kind of stalk him and take his best shot and land the heavier shots. I know I landed some heavy shots in there and I know i rocked him a couple of times. Apparently it wasn't enough," Faber said during the postfight press conference. "The main thing must've have been the amount of punches. That's the only thing I can think of."
Faber called Cruz cocky in the past, gave the young champ his due.
"Congrats to Dominick. I'm not an easy guy to beat. Joseph Benavidez is not an easy guy to beat," Faber said. "So we've got a good champ."
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If it were anyone else, we'd be shocked. But it's James Toney, so anything's possible. The former boxing world champion, holding on to the final shreds of his dignity, was recently booted from a local gym in Southern California.
Larry Brown Sports reports that Toney, who's "prepping" for a September fight against 47-year-old Ken Shamrock, is no longer welcome at 360 Health Club in Reseda, Ca.
The gym would not comment on the matter citing company policy, but they did confirm that Toney is no longer a member. We're told Toney made another member feel uncomfortable with a verbal and/or physical threat.
When asked what happened between him and 360, Toney told LBS "We had a disagreement with the managers. We had too much traffic coming in ? the wrong traffic." We did not press Toney for details on the specifics of the incident, but officials at 360 say the suggestion that bringing in "the wrong traffic" was not the issue.
If you'd like to check out the 42-year-old in action, he's now at the IFC gym in Van Nuys, Ca.
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Urijah Faber, challenging Dominick Cruz for his UFC 135-pound belt, is also challenging the champ's mental game. The battle before the real battle is being waged through media.
"He acts one way on camera and acts like Mr. Nice Guy, and plays me off like the bad guy. He can't expect to disrespect the things that I've done and want me to respect him back," Cruz told ESPNRadio1100's Pauly Howard (2:15 mark). "It comes down to, don't play the game of Mr. Nice Guy if your going to run your mouth."
In his exclusive Yahoo! Sports' UFC 132 blog, Faber has slammed Cruz, calling him a mental train wreck.
"[...] but the guy is an emotional mess. He goes from throwing himself pity-parties to praising himself for all that he brings to MMA," wrote Faber.
"He likes recounting his deprived upbringing (which doesn't sound that bad, in my opinion) and pondering how he could reach the heights he has with all that's wrong in his life."
"He's talking about my upbringing. Not all of us had a lot of money growing up. Not all of us had the perfect life growing up and had our mom and dad to buy us a gym in the most beautiful part of California," Cruz said (3:23 mark). "I'm sorry my life wasn't as picture perfect as Urijah Faber. I had to work for everything I've got. I'm fighting for family as I speak."
Cruz says he grew up in a rougher part of Tucson, Az. Frankly, can someone else really judge someone's account of their childhood?
Cruz is right about the promotion. This is definitely "The Golden Child" vs. "The Brooding Outsider." It may mean better business if Urijah Faber can take the strap, but if Cruz actually has his mental game together, the UFC may not get its wish. So far the bettors and Las Vegas sportsbooks are of the belief that Cruz will retain his title. He's a minus-140 favorite.
You can watch UFC 132 right here on Yahoo! Sports
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