Unwariestpickle - Great interview. Too bad no one in this thread watched it.
No way Goonies Top Team watched that interview and then post what he posted.
And Rob San Soo didn't watch the interview as well because if he DID watch the interview, he would know how/why Dom's knee was injured.
I don't get it, click on a thread, make a comment without watching the thread's video content.
and Dugs95 has a solid point.
I LOVE GSP - only 4 defences and he gets to hold the title for ransom, doesn't seem dominant enough for this long of a layoff with no strippage.
In the history of the UFC, how many champions successfully defended their belt 4 times consecutively?
Granted he became champion in WEC, but being that his division was yet to be made in UFC, I think it's understood and agreed he is recognized as a 4 time defending champion, half of those in the UFC, all of them against UFC caliber opponents.
off the top of my head-GSP, Anderson Silva, Aldo are the only UFC champions I can think of that have successfully defended their belt 4 times consecutively.
As a Urijah Faber fan first, I didn't like Cruz. There was someth.ing cunning/deceitful about him. Over time and many interviews watched/Tuf watched, I have learned/realized Dominick Cruz is a champion through and through, and is also a pretty cool guy. I wouldn't know who to root for if Cruz fought Faber again, but I know I'll be rooting for the Dominators return and will be pulling for him to beat Barao for the championship.
It's so hard to come back from such a long layoff just to be thrown into a Title fight. It was a real bad night for Cain Velasquez. Ring Rust is real. Unfortunately for Dominick, that's the route he has to take because he is the Champ. It eventually worked out for Cain, so maybe it'll work out for Dominick. I wish him luck, I know how hard it is. I had 3 knee injuries over the years.
I'm in complete agreement that he "should" get a shot at the title if he wants it. That said, I do think that he should be officially stripped. For a couple of reasons. First, it's just been too long. The UFC can't really promote anyone as champ of the 135 division right now. This whole "interim" tag is just emasculating. Second, I honestly think he would be better off stripped because I like Cruz. And after a 2 year lay-off, he'd be much better served to take a warm-up fight prior to getting in the cage with Barao. I completely understand that as a fighter, and a champion (or former champ - depending on how you view the interim issue) there is no way he would agree with my train of thought. Rightfully so, he believes that he can beat anyone in the division, and I can't say that he's wrong for wanting the shot.
5time defending champ vs 4time defending champ does make a good storyline going into the bout. 
Man, I understand his desire to fight for the belt immediately when he returns, but I don't know if fighting a buzzsaw like Barao after a two-year hiatus is the wisest move. Ehh, can't wait to see him back either way.