Despite being the first ever WEC bantamweight champion, Eddie Wineland (18-6-1) knows that his success and popularity in that promotion does not necessarily translate into fan recognition with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
That’s why his upcoming bout with one of the biggest names to come out of the WEC, Urijah Faber (24-4) will according to Wineland, be “a pretty huge deal to me.”
Wineland is set to meet Faber in the co-main event of UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones on March 19 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The bout marks the promotional debut for both fighters who are fighting for a shot at the UFC bantamweight title.
Wineland has won four straight, going 6-1 in his last seven matches. He wowed fans in the last WEC event, WEC 53, by knocking out opponent Ken Stone by slamming him to the mat earning the “Knockout of the Night” bonus.
“It’s not a make-it-or-break-it fight for me But, obviously, with the title shot out there, and fighting in the UFC and fighting Urijah, it’s a pretty huge deal to me. As a fighter, you want these kinds of opportunities against guys like Urijah because you can open a lot of eyes with a win…I don’t want to put pressure on myself thinking about the title shot or anything else because Urijah is more than enough for me to worry about now. It’s all about just going out there and doing what I know I can do. If I fight my fight and perform, all the attention and all the stuff that goes along with it will occur naturally…My whole thing is just working as hard as I can to be the best I can be – and after that, it’s just a matter of performing.”
HT: Yahoo! Sports