At UFC 149, former WEC champion Urijah Faber will get his second chance at claiming UFC gold. With bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz sidelined by injury, Faber’s second UFC title fight will come in the form of a bout against Renan Barao for an interim championship.
Undefeated in his past 28 fights, Barao was chosen to replace Cruz after the titleholder went down with a knee injury and was forced out of a rematch with his opposing The Ultimate Fighter 15 coach in Faber.
To add to the excitement for this fight card, long-time Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard will be welcomed to the Octagon by Tim Boetsch. With Boetsch coming off of a knockout win over Yushin Okami, both fighters will be looking to make statement in the race for the next shot at 185-pound titleholder Anderson Silva.
Additionally, Cheick Kongo will attempt to get back on a winning track against Shawn Jordan following a knockout loss to Mark Hunt. Also, welterweight Brian Ebersole will be aiming for a fifth straight UFC win in a quick turnaround against James Head.
To promote UFC 149, which will be held at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a pre-fight press conference will be held on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET. Event headliners Faber, Barao, Lombard and Boetsch will likely join UFC president Dana White for the presser.
Video of the press conference will be streamed live on the above video player. After the presser, stay tuned to Bleacher Report MMA for all the latest on UFC 149 and the rest of your MMA needs.
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