Even though the match was changed due to injury and the date was delayed by two weeks, UFC 149 will feature the first bantamweight championship match since last October, as Urijah Faber and Renan Barao battle for the interim title.
Faber was originally supposed to take on Dominick Cruz at UFC 148. A knee injury to Cruz forced a change in the main event, but Faber still gets his shot at the gold. With a victory in this match, depending on when Cruz is able to return, Faber will get his rematch with the Bantamweight Champion.
Meanwhile, Barao will have the chance of a lifetime. He was pushed into this spot sooner than expected. He has a perfect record in WEC and UFC combined (5-0), and only one loss in his 30 career fights, so it is not like he isn’t ready for this opportunity.
Where: Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
When: Satuday, July 21 at 10:00 p.m. EST
Watch: Main Card starts at 10:00 p.m. EST on pay-per-view; FX Preliminary Card starts at 8:00 p.m. EST; Facebook Preliminary Card starts at 7:00 p.m. EST
Fight Card
Main Card (PPV)
Interim Bantamweight Championship: Urijah Faber vs. Renan Barao
Middleweight Bout: Hector Lombard vs. Tim Boetsch
Heavyweight Bout: Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan
Welterweight Bout: Brian Ebersole vs. James Head
Welterweight Bout: Chris Clements vs. Matt Riddle
Preliminary Card (FX)
Middleweight Bout: Court McGee vs. Nick Ring
Bantamweight Bout: Roland Delorme vs. Francisco Rivera
Light Heavyweight Bout: Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh
Bantamweight Bout: Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon
Preliminary Card (Facebook)
Featherweight Bout: Antonio Carvalho vs. Daniel Pineda
Lightweight Bout: Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen
Faber’s Keys to Victory
Force Barao to stand early; use wrestling in the later rounds
Faber’s evolution as a fighter has been fascinating to watch. While I don’t believe him to be as good as he was in his peak years, he is still one of the handful of bantamweight fighters who can carry the division.
Barao does present interesting challenges because they are stylistically similar. Both excel on the ground, but Faber’s stand up is better than Barao’s. I think we are going to see Faber pepper Barao with punches early to wear him out before taking things to the ground late.
Barao’s Keys to Victory
Work the ground and submissions early; don’t give Faber any opening
Barao is not completely without power in his striking, it just isn’t his strong suit. Against a fighter like Faber, who has proven to have a strong chin, Barao needs to use his best assets to win this fight.
Throughout his career, Barao has shown himself to be more adept at fighting on the ground. His submission game is very good, and he is one of the strongest Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters in the sport.
Undercard Fight To Watch: Roland Delorme vs. Francisco Rivera
I am not sure how much upside either fighter has, but Delorme vs. Rivera is going to be a great clash of styles that provides a lot of fireworks.
Delorme has eight career victories, all finishes. He is a submission expert with a little bit of power in his striking.
Rivera also has eight victories, five coming via knockout. He is an all-or-nothing type—he is either going to win via knockout, or go to a decision. He doesn’t like to fight on the ground, nor does he want to fight there.
I give Delorme the advantage because he has more dimensions, but Rivera just needs that one shot to end it in the blink of an eye.
What They Are Saying
Urijah Faber had to change his preparation for this fight, going from Cruz to Barao, but he is expecting to see something exciting happen when he gets in the cage on Saturday night.
Here is what Faber said during a UFC 149 conference call last week (via Sports Illustrated):
This matchup is two guys that are finishers. We’re both big for the weight class. We both like to fight. I feel like Dominick tries to win more than he is trying to beat someone up. And Barão and I are the type of guys who like to beat each other up and try to win, so it’s going to be a knock-down, drag-out. And that’s what I like.
This seems like the stage for Faber to get the gold that he so covets. He wants to be the best fighter in the biggest organization. He will still have to deal with Cruz to prove he is the best, but at least he will get a taste of gold if he wins.
Main Event Prediction
This just feels like Faber’s fight. Everything that Barao can do, Faber can match. Faber is a better, more well-rounded fighter. If this goes to the ground, things will get interesting, but I think Faber is going to win.
Faber wins via unanimous decision
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com