A single question preoccupies the mind of bantamweight contender Urijah Faber. Who is The Man?
However, this is no quest for answers that Urijah is on. The question, to Faber’s satisfaction, has already been answered. The California Kid feels it is his mission to share that answer with the world: He is The Man and if you weigh in at less than or equal to 136 lbs. in the UFC, Faber intends for you to help him make his case.
Faber is the consensus “face” of the lower weight divisions in MMA, overshadowing bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and featherweight champion Jose Aldo, regardless of having losses recorded to both men.
Urijah Faber, though, believes he is 2-0 in his last two fights; on his win over Brian Bowles last night, the record agrees.
The fight previous, the decision loss to Cruz, is one that Faber hotly disputes. He has said that the judges ignored the impact fullness of his attacks and focused more on Cruz’s voluminous but ineffectual strikes.
With his win over former WEC champion and Brian Bowles, he has secured his chance to finish their trilogy, possibly in the context of a coaching run on The Ultimate Fighter later next year.
Does Faber need this win over Cruz to secure his legacy?
That depends on what expectations of Faber’s legacy are.
If his legacy is to be the man who led the charge of smaller fighters to prominence on the world stage, then yes, absolutely he needs to beat Dominick Cruz. Decisively.
The Ultimate Fighter tournament is about to inject some fresh blood into the lighter divisions and Faber needs to be defending the bantamweight strap against these hungry newcomers as interest in the weight class swells.
The weight class and Faber need each other. Faber’s presence and exciting fighting style will do much for MMA if he is holding the belt and headlining shows.
If his legacy were the steward who builds and nurtures the division, then I would say it is less important. The work he has done and the notoriety he has attained will be enough if, over the course of the next decade or so, Team Alpha Male produces the fighters that its potential portends.
In the end however, to be The Man, you must beat The Man and Urijah Faber will settle for nothing less.
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