Making The Case For Urijah Faber As The Next Bantamweight Title Challenger

The UFC Bantamweight division is exciting right now, headed by absent Champ Dominick Cruz and Interim boss Renan Barao; ‘Baron’ has cleaned out the division during the injured champ’s hiatus and set himself up to unify the belts when he faces ‘The Dominator’ at UFC 169.

The division became that much more intriguing after UFC on Fox 9, where Urijah Faber put on a fantastic display against Michael MacDonald. ‘The California Kid’ outboxed, outclassed and eventually submitted the younger Prospect. In my opinion, Faber is the next rightful contender to the Bantamweight belt, after UFC 169 of course.

 Many fans considered Faber unlucky to not capture the crown from Cruz at UFC 132 and his interim title loss against Barao at UFC 149 could have spelled the end for the now 32-year-old Alpha Male product.

Faber has reinvented himself as of late, and the showing he put on at Fox 9 displayed a vast improvement in power striking. I’ve always looked on Faber as a big talent in MMA, but it seemed he had always fallen short since his tenure as Champion in the WEC.

I am now a fan of Faber’s, whereas before I appreciated his talent but never believed he would hold a belt again. It is my firm belief now that if Faber fightas against Cruaz, or even Barao, like he did against MacDonald then he will be crowned the new champ.

I know that styles make fights, but it is clear that UF is only just coming in to his prime. Age is not the only factor when considering a fighter’s prime; training, conditioning and experience can often altar time in which a fighter is at their optimum competitive capacity.

I’m excited to see if Cruz can make a successful comeback at 169 against the surging Barao. I’m even more interested to see if either man can deal with Faber in the next bout. In my mind there is noone that deserves the next shot more than ‘The California Kid’, Period.