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[W.Silva>C.Norris]

Yeah, that knee is never gonna be the same. Unfortunate.

[BonesKnows]

the worst part for him is that he hasnt faught since october 2011, so hes been out over a year already. Add another 6 months of rehab plus 3 month training camp, hes going to be out another 9 months at best and i bet its going to be closer to 8 months of rehab because he wont want to risk tearing it a third time by coming back to soon. In total hes looking at a 2 year lay off from the sport. That type of layoff can put a career in jeapardy.

[Badluck33]

why do i have this feeling that the UFC is going to quickly try to put an interim belt on Faber as quickly as they can....

[W.Silva>C.Norris]

Originally Posted by Badluck33

why do i have this feeling that the UFC is going to quickly try to put an interim belt on Faber as quickly as they can....

Didnt they already give an interm belt to barao(sp) after he beat faber?

[disposableassassin]

Yeah I don't know how much Cruz has left. He breaks his damn hand in like every fight as well. I am thinking it would only take one morei jury and he is done.

[rivethead]

Originally Posted by BonesKnows

If he is going to come back, should the UFC strip him of his title and make Barao the real 135 champ and not an interim champ?

I think they'll have him fight Michael McDonald for the belt. They could have a 4 man tourney, and the winner fights Barao for the actual belt, which would be cooler, but probably won't happen. they could do a one-night two rounder and make me happy, but that's even less likely.

I think a craxy one-night two-rounder with McDonald, Fernandes, Faber and either Pickett or Wineland would be outstanding, and could move more attention to the Bantams. The winner could then face Renan Barao.

If you're moving from the concept of an interim--which many fans look at as "placeholder" or even "fake" belts to a legitimized, "real" title, it would be a great illustration of the effort needed to capture the belt and make it more prominent as a result.

Plus I'm a sucker for one-night tourneys. I'll admit I'm a tad biased.

Originally Posted by adamatfullers

I personally think if a title is not defended within a year it should be stripped. Regardless of injuries etc. The previous title holder should be granted a rematch upon return. And IMO this goes for everyone. Anderson included.

What about interims? I don't even think they should get a year. dana talked about Barao fighting McDonald a couple weeks back, I think that's the most likely...but I would say interim belts--which I hate, by the way--would be on an even tighter schedule than legitimized champions.

Originally Posted by NLRepublic

Due to his style of fighting (quick foot work) and due to his age (he is missing his prime years) this could cause for some serious trouble when he gets back

Then again, that was said about GSP and he looked fantastic when he came back

But man, GSP has 1 surgery, not two. And as good as Condit is, Cruz has a BEAST waiting for him in Barao... tough luck for Cruz, hate to read this

GSPs injury wasn't as bad as either of Cruz's.

Originally Posted by W.Silva>C.Norris

Didnt they already give an interm belt to barao(sp) after he beat faber?

They did. That's why I think we have a chance to see a tourney winner face-off instead of just giving Renan the belt: it gives Faber another shot, it pumps up the division and adds a bit of legitimate drama, and it can sell a couple PPV buys.

rh

[beardown98]

I feel bad for Cruz i hope he comes back strong but i doubt he will be the same fighter he was. With that said even if he is not the same fighter he still will be a beast maybe not the best in his division but certainly one of the top guys. He may prove me wrong which i hope he does.

I want to see Barao defend his interim belt against Mcdonald. Hopefully after that the winner can face Cruz to unify the titles. I wish they would do a tourney as Rivet suggested but thats just not what Dana likes to do even when he has one he won't admit it.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

All I have to say is......damn.

[Kimbo> Rampage]

Sucks for Cruz... Lets hope this isnt career ending... Im trying to find some positive light on this, buts its hard to do... As others have mentioned. Asking if he knee will ever be the same is a legit question, especially with 2 surgery's before he even returned.

He is missing out on his prime years and he has always seemed fragile.

Originally Posted by Fe1

Dammit. This is even longer that Barao will go without defending the title. He needs to nut up and fight already.

This obviously changes things... It went from a GSP/Condit situation to this... I highly doubt Barao himself and his team would want to wait that long... Even if that is a big fight, he needs money and keep active for the sake of his own career... The UFC wont let that happen either... Way to find reason to complain...

has the UFC asked him to defend the belt or even offered him a fight?

Its amazing how people overlook that part. The UFC offering a fight is the first step... He he didnt want to or refused, im sure Dana would bitch about it.

[Sniggles]

Barao, the mini Carlos Condit.