It's rare to have an intense build up for a bantamweight title rematch, but that will certainly be the case when Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber square off on July 2nd in Las Vegas.

It will be a battle of two West Coast fighters who have shown a great deal of promise.

Cruz (18-1) will be defending his UFC Bantamweight title for the first time since his victory over Brian Bowles in 2010. This should be a particularly compelling fight since Faber (29-4) is the only fighter to beat Cruz, when he did it back in 2007.

Faber has used a guillotine-chokehold submission a total of 13 times in 25-of-29 wins. Cruz will have to avoid that signature move if he expects to hold on to the belt.

Cruz rarely wins by submission, with most of his victories coming by way of technical knockout and decision. His hands are fast, and he has quick and effective footwork. The 24-year-old from Tucson, Arizona, uses his speed as a weapon both offensively and defensively.

It will be interesting to see how Cruz disrupts Faber's aggressive wrestling strategy and avoid a chokehold submission.

Cruz has the skills to knock out Faber before he hits the mat. However, Faber acts fast and delivers powerful strikes to put his opponents in a tight and forceful hold. The southern California native will have to time his attacks carefully to avoid letting Cruz slip by him.

Faber is as aggressive as ever, and is coming off impressive victories over Eddie Wineland and Takeya Mizugaki.

Cruz has become a much smarter fighter since his loss to Faber, but Faber may have the psychological advantage as the only fighter to beat him.

Expect a very aggressive and tactical fight on July 2nd.

California Arizona California Arizona