A bantamweight bout between “The California Kid” Urijah Faber (24-4) and Eddie Wineland (18-6-1) looks to be almost a done deal for UFC 128 in March.
MMAFighting.com reported the news Wednesday afternoon confirming the news with a source close to the bout. They noted that only verbal agreements have been made by both fighters to meet and no official bout agreements have been issued.
Faber made his WEC bantamweight debut in his last appearance, dropping down from featherweight to score a first round submission victory over Takeya Mizugaki at WEC 52 in November. The former WEC 145 lbs champ made the move after two title bout losses the first to Mike Brown at WEC 41, losing the title, and then to Jose Aldo at WEC 48 by unanimous decision. Faber’s record over his past four fights is 2-2.
Wineland has won four in a row which includes his knockout body slam of Ken Stone at this months WEC 53 event. After the bout Wineland had made the request to WEC execs for a tougher opponent, which he’ll get against Faber.
Wineland was the first WEC bantamweight champ winning the title back in May of 2006. He’d go on to lose the belt in his next fight and the title has alluded him ever since. His current WEC record sits at 5-2 and a victory for either fighter could have title implications.
UFC 128 has yet to be officially announced but is expected to take place on March 19th at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.