Why Dominick Cruz Should Move to Featherweight If He Beats Urijah Faber

It seems like Dominick Cruz will face Urijah Faber for a third time considering both have been picked to be coaches for the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.  S,o it isn't if they will face each other, but when that is going to be that isn't known.

Cruz and Faber aren't exactly friends and seem to get underneath each other's skin, which means that they will make for good TV when the show appears on FX.  That plus the live-fight format should help rejuvenate the slumping UFC reality show. 

But for hardcore fans, the reality TV angle isn't as important as the matchup and this is one of the better ones that can be made at bantamweight.  Cruz and Faber have both notched a win over the other one.

For Faber it was when he was featherweight champion and for Cruz it was during his current bantamweight title run.  Now fans get to see the trilogy come to a completion.

What happens after the fight depends on what happens in the cage.  It seems like there is no way Faber can touch Cruz now, but it wasn't too long ago fans felt the same way about Faber during his championship run in the WEC, which included his first-round submission of Cruz.

But if, and it's a big if considering the talent and determination of the "California Kid," Cruz can beat Faber he might just have to move up in weight if he wants to keep finding challenges.

Of course, Cruz could stay at bantamweight should he win their third contest.  Nothing says he has to move up to face bigger fighters.  He could even make decent money in a matchup with Miguel Torres should Torres string together a few more wins.

However, that isn't guaranteed and in the meantime it would mean that Cruz may have to fight against less recognized opposition.  That might not hurt his paycheck, but it might cut into his sponsorship money and any potential bonus money he might have obtained from being in the main event or co-main event.

So, his best bet might not be to wait.

It might just be a match with Jose Aldo at featherweight.

Both are incredibly dominant champions, and though they are smaller fighters the UFC might be inclined to give them a main event slot on a pay-per-view.  It might even lead to them getting a cut of the PPV revenue.

For smaller guys who seem to also get smaller paychecks that could be a winning combination, even for the loser.  

And fans would get to see one of the best matches that could be made in the lower weight divisions.  So, if Cruz does beat Faber things might just start looking up for him.

And in Cruz's case that might be at least ten pounds.