The third encounter between highly-touted 135-pound products and natural rivals Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz has been on everybody’s radar as both men hold a victory over the other.
But we are going to have to wait a while before that exciting bantamweight tilt graces our television sets as Cruz suffered a knee-injury that forces him to sit on the sideline.
Their rivalry will continue to play out of the debut season of The Ultimate Fighter: Live on FX but Faber will be facing Renan Barao when he enters the cage on July 7.
Barao has fought his way to the top of the bantamweight ranks from going unbeaten in his past 29 outings with five under the Zuffa banner, most recently former title-challenger Scott Jorgensen.
Because the Adrenaline MMA product is set to be out for up to nine months UFC figurehead Dana White is making this bout an interim-title fight with the winner unifying both championships somewhere down the line.
