It's no secret that Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz just don't get along. They've fought twice with each man taking one of the bouts, and they were set to meet a for third time after being opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. That was all brought to a halt by the UFC bantamweight champion's problems with his ACL though, and he has been on the shelf for close to 18 months now with no end in sight. UFC president Dana White has mulled over whether to strip him of his title or not but surprisingly enough, his rival Faber stuck up for him in an interview with Sherdog Radio:
"I don't feel like he should be stripped of the belt. The guy's earned it. Part of the reason why he's injured is because he puts it all out there and hits like a weirdo, but he throws punches anyways. I wouldn't count the guy out. I don't think they should strip him of the title.... He's still, in my opinion, considered the champion. I don't think you strip a guy of the belt. I would be pissed if they stripped me of the belt."
After Faber's title shot at UFC 146 fell through, he competed against Renan Barao for an interim title at UFC 149 but lost to the Brazilian. Barao has since defended it once by submitting Michael McDonald and is booked to face Eddie Wineland for the interim belt at UFC 161 in June. My guess is that the UFC won't strip Cruz anyway, because they want to be able to promote a title vs. title bout down the line with Barao. But it is sort of amusing that Faber defended a guy he doesn't like while taking a couple of shots at him in the process.