Before Urijah Faber’s loss to Matt Brown at WEC 36, “The California Kid” was considered one of the pound-for-pound best MMA fighters in the world by most fans. Ever since Faber lost the WEC featherweight title to Brown, the veteran MMA fighter hasn’t been able to return to his previous form.

Faber lost two of his next four MMA fights after losing his title, before finally turning things around and putting together a two fight winning streak.

Faber surely understands the importance of his upcoming fight with Dominick Cruz at UFC 132.

“I think so,” Faber said in an interview with SBNation’s Luke Thomas when asked if the rematch with Cruz would define his career. “I don’t plan on going anywhere win, lose, or draw but I plan on winning and I plan on adding that to my list of accomplishments and going on a run and being a defending champion, then having super fights after that. Right now my body feels incredible, my technique keeps getting better and better, I’m evolving, and at this new weight I feel great so I’m just excited for the future man. This is the first step in a new direction.”

It’s safe to say many MMA fans will be rooting for Faber at UFC 132, but dealing with Cruz isn’t going to be easy. Faber did win the first encounter between the two MMA fighters at WEC 26, submitting Cruz in the first round. WEC 26 is the only time Cruz has ever lost in his MMA career, and he’ll probably be anxious for some payback.

Regardless of who wins the fight at UFC 132, MMA fans should be in for a treat with this matchup. I expect “Fight of the Night” worthy performances from both MMA fighters, and the winner will probably rule the UFC’s bantamweight division for quite some time.

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UFC 132 features a rematch between current UFC bantamweight champion Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz and former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber. UFC 132 will also be headlined by an interesting matchup between tough MMA fighters Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva. Here are my predictions for UFC 132 scheduled for July 2^nd at the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dominick Cruz versus Urijah Faber

Faber won their first encounter at WEC 26 rather easily, submitting Cruz in the first round. Cruz dropped down to bantamweight division shortly after, and has been undefeated in his last eight fights. I like Faber a lot and he’s undefeated in the bantamweight division as well, but I don’t think he’ll be able stop Cruz’ momentum. Cruz wins by decision.

Wanderlei Silva versus Chris Leben

This should be an all out brawl with both MMA fighters leaving it all in the Octagon. Eventually Silva will catch Leben and send him home early. Silva wins by TKO.

Tito Ortiz versus Ryan Bader

Tough matchup for Tito, Bader was one win away from fighting for the UFC light-heavyweight title. Unfortunately for Bader, he ended up losing to the current light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and he’ll be motivated to get back in contention. Bader wins by decision.

Carlos Condit versus Dong Hyun Kim

Kim’s undefeated MMA record will come to an end when he faces Condit at UFC 132. Condit is clearly worthy of his intimidating nickname “The Natural Born Killer.” In the past five years, Martin Kampmann is the only MMA fighter that has been able to defeat him (12 fights total). Condit by KO

Matt Wiman versus Dennis Siver

I like Matt Wiman, but I don’t think he has the tools needed to deal with Siver. Siver will have no problems using his solid wrestling skills to dominate the fight. Siver wins by decision.

Undercard

Brian Bowles defeats Takeya Mizugaki

Brad Tavares defeats Aaron Simpson

George Sotiropoulos defeats Rafael dos Anjos

Melvin Guillard defeats Shane Roller

Anthony Njokuani defeats Andre Winner

Donny Walker defeats Jeff Hougland

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Even with the last-minute changes to the “UFC Live 4” card, it still turned out to be an entertaining night of MMA fights. “UFC Live 4” took place on June 26, at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburg, PA. Here are the results for the “UFC Live 4” fight card.

Cheick Kongo defeats Patrick Barry

Both MMA fighters felt each other out in the opening minutes of the fight, before an overhand right from Barry sent Kongo to the ground. Kongo looked like he was out as Barry bombarded him with punches, but the French MMA fighter managed to get back on his feet. As Barry looked for the finish, Kongo landed a flush uppercut that instantly froze Barry up. Kongo followed up with a few solid punches before referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight. Definitely one of the best comebacks in UFC history, props to Kongo for withstanding Barry’s assault and Miragliotta for not stopping the fight early.

Charlie Brenneman defeats Rick Story

Brenneman gave his opponent a horror story he won’t soon forget at “UFC Live 4.” Taking the fight on 24 hour notice, Brenneman shocked MMA fans as he dominated Story and earned the unanimous decision. Ironically, Story who has impressed many with his wrestling ability in the past, found himself outwrestled in a fight he couldn’t afford to lose.

Matt Brown defeats John Howard

Brown displayed his well-rounded arsenal as an MMA fighter at “UFC Live 4”, out striking Howard and forcing him to shoot. Howard had no answers for Brown on the ground either. All three judges scored the fight 29-28 for Brown.

Matt Mitrione defeats Christian Morecraft

Mitrione improves his MMA record to 5-0, with his second round knockout of Morecraft.

Undercard

Tyson Griffin defeats Manny Gamburyan (unanimous decision)

Javier Vazquez defeats Joe Stevenson (unanimous decision)

Joe Lauzon defeats Curt Warburton (kimura, round one)

Rich Attonito defeats Daniel Roberts (unanimous decision)

Charles Oliveira defeats Nik Lentz (rear-naked choke, round two)

Ricardo Lamas defeats Matt Grice (TKO, round one)

Michael Johnson Edward Faaloloto (TKO, round one)

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UFC President Dana White is obviously frustrated with that fact Nate Marquardt failed his pre-fight medical examination, a day before he was scheduled to meet MMA up and comer Rick Story, at “UFC Live 4” scheduled for June 26.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission didn’t specify exactly why Marquardt wasn’t cleared, but some MMA fans think the drastic cut to 170 lbs probably had something to do with it.

With his failed medical examination, Charlie Brenneman will replace Marquardt and fight Rick Story at “UFC Live 4.” Given how embarrassing the whole situation is for the UFC, it’s no surprise Dana White quickly announced Marquardt will no longer be a part of the MMA promotion.

“I’m sure you’ve heard that Nate Marquardt is out. It’s true. He failed his medicals,” White announced to MMA fans via video blog. “Not only is he out of this fight and out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC.”

The biggest loser in the whole situation is Rick Story who was a win away from a possible showdown with UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre. Story ended up losing his “UFC Live 4” matchup against Brenneman via unanimous decision, much to the delight of Philly MMA fans who came out to support their hometown kid.

With the loss, Brenneman is probably closer to a possible title shot with welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre than Story is. A few wins over some UFC big names, and I’m sure Brenneman will be in the title conversation. For Rick Story, it’s back to square one. All the hype he generated in his win over Thiago Alves was nullified in 15 minutes by Charlie Brenneman at “UFC Live 4”.

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UFC up and comer Rick Story feels pretty confident he’ll be able to walk away with a win when he faces Nate Marquardt at UFC Live 4, scheduled for June 26. Anthony Johnson was originally scheduled to fight Marquardt at UFC Live 4, but pulled out of the MMA fight due to an injury.

Rick Story ended up taking the fight on short notice, and a win against a top fighter like Marquardt will significantly improve his ranking as an MMA fighter. Story feels his wrestling ability will be his key to victory against Marquardt.

“If you watch his fight with Chael Sonnen, it’s pretty evident,” Story said during an interview on the Savage Dog Show. “He doesn’t have exceptional takedown defense, but he’s exceptional off his back. [It’s going to take] ground-and-pound and a high pace and you name it. In that Chael Sonnen fight, Chael went in that fight with a great game plan that worked for him. It showed a weakness in Marquardt’s game.”

Sonnen did surprise many MMA fans when he faced Marquardt at UFC 109, dominating his opponent and taking the unanimous decision. Given all that has been revealed about Sonnen since his UFC 117 encounter with current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva; I have a hard time giving Sonnen too much credit for the win, but the grinding-out strategy does seem to be effective against Marquardt.

Story hopes a win against Marquardt will put him closer to a shot at the UFC welterweight championship.

“I think that it depends on how the fight ends up,” Story said. “If it’s another decision, it’s not as much a priority. But if I end up finishing Nate, I think that puts me closer to that title shot. I don’t know if it would be more deserving than either B.J. Penn or Jon Fitch, but I’m sure a lot of people would like to see me challenge St. Pierre or Diaz.”

Story definitely deserves a title shot if he gets a win over Marquardt at UFC Live 4, but Nate won’t be eager to lose in his welterweight debut.

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