Down 2-0 to Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber's hopes to get in the win column rest on his No. 1 selection. Al Iaquinta was selected by Cruz to face Myles Jury on next Friday's Ultimate Fighter Live 10 p.m. on FX. Last week, Cruz summoned his top pick, Justin Lawrence, only three episodes into this season. Lawrence responded with a second-round knockout over a game Cristiano Marcello.
Owning all the momentum, Team Cruz is looking to put a stranglehold on Team Faber by taking out the Matt Serra-Ray Longo student.
"Got called out tonight; not the first time, probably won’t be the last - and I got my ass kicked early that time, then won the fight. Jury’s never been in a war like I have."
Iaquinta is 6-1-1 in his four-year pro MMA career. He suffered his first defeat last November at Ring of Combat XXXVIII when he tapped to Patrick Audinwood's armbar at 2:06 of the first round. He rebounded by earning a unanimous-decision win over Jonathan Tuck to gain entry into the TUF house.
The next challenge is defeating Jury, unbeaten in nine MMA fights, and get Team Faber back into the game.
"I feel great, I’ve been waiting for this opportunity my whole life," Jury said. "Al’s a tough opponent and it will be the toughest fight of my career."
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