Fighter Futures: Urijah Faber

Here’s the thing with Urijah, even though he came up short in another title fight, he is not quite in the same position as Chael Sonnen. Sonnen was defeated by Anderson twice for the Undisputed Middleweight Belt; Faber is 1-1 against Dominick Cruz and 0-1 against Barao so he is poised for either a rubber match or rematch, also it helps that he is one of the Bantamweight Division’s biggest draws. My point is even though Urijah lost the Interim Title fight he is still the number 3 guy and rematches with both champions are bound to happen before the end of his career. His future is a little murky with no schedule for Cruz’s return, but I expect he will stay active with a tune up fight which will inevitably also serve a title eliminator to face the eventual winner of Cruz/Barao.

Barao Won't Defend Belt; Will Wait for Cruz

It gets really hard writing about dudes in peak physical condition every day, while I sit at my dining room table surrounded by BBQ potato chips, vanilla cookies, and empty cans of generic root beer. I had a banana a little bit ago which I’m sure cancels that burrito I had for breakfast. I’m disappointed with myself; I’m also disappointed in Renan Barao. Barao, who faces Urijah Faber for the Interim Bantamweight title this weekend, recently said he would not defend the belt if victorious, but instead would wait for Dominick Cruz to return. I don’t understand why Interim Champions are given this option, the Welterweights made it work (barely) with some interesting fights, but the Bantamweights, arguably the least popular division, can’t afford an Interim Champ who won’t fight while their division struggles to gain fan support. I dislike Urijah, but at least he said he’d defend the strap.