Cody Garbrandt on Dominick Cruz: 'I'm already in the champ's head'

Perhaps Dominick Cruz is destined to fight each and every Team Alpha Male bantamweight before he calls it a career.

Cruz, who retained his 135-pound belt by defeating longtime rival Urijah Faber at last week's UFC 199 pay-per-view, could face TAM prospect Cody Garbrandt in his next title defense.

'The Dominator' infamously referred to Team Alpha Male as 'Team Alpha Fail' after his first round KO of Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 178 and has beaten some of the California-based teams' biggest names. Faber, Benavidez, and ex-teammate T.J. Dillashaw have all fallen to Cruz in the Octagon and it seems 'No Love' is looking to break the curse.

The 24-year-old, who emerged as a top 10 bantamweight talent when he blitzed through the highly touted Thomas Almeida at UFC Fight Night 88, fired shots at Cruz while backstage at UFC 199.

"Dominick is a (expletive)," he told reporters at The Forum in Inglewood, California, per MMA Junkie. "He's trying to put a fight between me and Faber, because he's scared to fight me. "He knows I'd knock him out. I'm already in the champ's head."

The two also went at it on social media earlier this month, with Cruz claiming that 'The California Kid' would have no problem accepting a fight with Garbrandt and beating him in the cage.

You're trying to get @UrijahFaber to fight me cause your to scared to fight me @DominickCruz what kind of champion is that?

— Cody Garbrandt (@Cody_Nolove) June 2, 2016

.@Cody_Nolove all I Hve stated is ur boy Faber would BEAT you IF u two fought.YOU said the rest. Get ur emotions together "no love" #Facts

— Dominick Cruz (@DominickCruz) June 2, 2016

While Garbrandt has the BW champ in his sights, it's likely the knockout artist will face Bryan Caraway as a final test before challenging for the title. Ranked at No. 7 in the official rankings, the Ohio-born fighter has proved to be one of the most exciting prospects in the division and will look to extend his record to 10-0 in his next fight.