Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber continues his journey to earn a bantamweight championship when he faces Eddie Wineland in the co-main event of UFC 128. The fight will be shown as part of the pay-per-view broadcast.
How do these guys stack up?
Faber: 31 years old, 5’6″
Wineland: 26 years old, 5’8″
What have they done lately?
Faber: W Takeya Mizugaki (SUB), L Jose Aldo (DEC), W Raphael Assuncao (SUB)
Wineland: W Ken Stone (KO), W Will Campuzano (KO), W George Roop (DEC)
How did these guys get here?
Urijah Faber was the face of the WEC and reigned as featherweight champion from March of 2006 until November of 2008. After five successful defenses of his title, Mike Brown upset Faber to win the belt. Since that fight he has alternated wins and losses, not putting together a multi-fight win streak during that time. After a loss to Jose Aldo in a bid to regain the 145 pound title, Faber dropped to bantamweight where he defeated Takeya Mizugaki. He now looks to earn a shot at current 135 pound champ Dominick Cruz, a man he defeated when they were both featherweights in 2007.
Wineland started his career out at 3-4-1 before figuring things out in 2005 and going on an impressive run that brings his current record to 18-6-1. During that run he was the first ever WEC bantamweight championship defeating Antonio Banuelos before dropping the strap to Chase Beebe. Currently he is riding a four fight win streak with a recent slam KO of Ken Stone.
Why should you care?
Faber needs the win to earn a shot at the UFC bantamweight title and Wineland is a powerful man who represents a legitimate challenge for Urijah.