Since its UFC inception, the bantamweight division has revolved around Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
The five-year rivalry has taken on a life of its own, and UFC fans have generally accepted it with open arms.
Faber drew first blood back in March 2007 by submitting Cruz in the first round of their WEC featherweight title bout.
It marked the first and only loss of Cruz's career. Since losing to Faber, Cruz bounced back to capture the WEC bantamweight title, and eventually, UFC gold.
In one of the best fights of 2011, the bitter rivals battled it out in the main event of UFC 132, where Cruz avenged his past loss and successfully defended his UFC title for the first time.
Now, Cruz and Faber are set to square off again in a rubber match on July 7. Since both bantamweights were cast as coaches in the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, the gap between title defenses has been significantly long.
Cruz's last defense came in a unanimous decision win over Demetrious Johnson in October 2011. While fans continue to become acclimated with the bantamweight division, the influx of potential contenders remains intriguing.
Fighters like Brian Bowles, Miguel Torres, Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett will always vie for contention, but newcomers Renan Barao and Michael McDonald make for some interesting bantamweight clashes in the future.
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