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Nothing went as Court McGee had planned leading into his last fight. Things didn’t play out as he had expected once the cage door closed either, and the combination of the two has the former Ultimate Fighter winner irritated, but intensely focused as he readies to make his return to the Octagon this weekend at UFC 149.

“I let myself down. I don’t have anybody to blame other than myself on the business side,” McGee began. “I’m a fighter and I love fighting, but it got to a point where I didn’t want to fight; I wanted to try and figure out the business side, and do this, do that. Then I got to the point where I was like, `S**t – what am I doing this for?’ I lost track of why it is that I love to step into the cage and fight guys, and I found that again. You can’t explain it really, but I’ve got it.

“I was so disappointed after the fight because I let myself down; I didn’t cut him off as well as I can,” added McGee, turning his attention to another source of frustration – his March loss to Costa Philippou. “But we’re not in a square ring, so you can’t corner a guy, and it’s hard to put somebody on the cage if they’re running. It’s just one of those things that are frustrating, and there have been two or three fights that have been like that.

“What if he would have rocked me, and come in? Followed up, finished, and got Knockout of the Night? That’s fifty grand, man. Or if he would have stood there and fought me, we would have got Fight of the Night, and that’s fifty grand, you know what I mean?”

McGee has built his reputation on being a fighter who is hard to put away; a well-rounded mixed martial artist whose greatest strengths inside the cage are his conditioning and heart. He’s earned the adoration of fans for his entertaining back-and-forth fights, both during his time on The Ultimate Fighter and since winning the middleweight competition on Season 11 as a member of Team Liddell.

He feels like he didn’t get the opportunity to give that to the fans in Australia back in March, in part because of an illness that plagued him in the weeks leading up to his fight, but also because of the strategy Philippou employed. It’s one that we’re seeing utilized more often, a trend that worries McGee.

“Look at it in the Clay Guida fight; same thing,” McGee offered, referencing the lightweight’s recent split decision loss to Gray Maynard that saw Guida attempt to use an uncharacteristic stick-and-move approach to counter Maynard’s size and strength advantages. “If they had given Clay Guida the fight, it would have been okay for you to run in this sport, when we get paid to compete; to fight. It’s not an amateur boxing match where I score once or twice and then see how fast I can run away; we’re out there to finish the guy. You’re out there to submit him or knock him out. So for two-and-a-half minutes when you run side-to-side and don’t throw one punch, what are you doing exactly?”

As much as the loss continues to frustrate him, McGee has turned the page, shifting his focus to Nick Ring, and using his experience in Australia to push him through a more rigorous and productive training camp heading into their meeting on Saturday night. Rather than use the illness that slowed him and Philippou’s game plan as an excuse that he lets hold him back, the 27-year-old southpaw is using them as another lesson learned on his journey as a martial artist, and fuel to deliver a better performance when he steps into the cage at the Scotiabank Saddledome this weekend.

“Yeah, I got sick, and I was on a s**t-load of antibiotics, and I lost a bunch of weight, and I didn’t have as much energy and strength as I usually would, but that’s part of it too. To be a martial artist, you take on a challenge. It’s not the winning or the losing – granted, everybody wants to win, and everybody is willing to work to win – but winning and losing is only a part of it. It’s the journey. It’s the experience. I took a lot from the experience, so it’s fueled the fire in me that I can’t explain to you, man.

“I went out to Gilbert (Melendez’s) gym,” continued McGee. “I’ve got some really good partners out there like Tareq Azim, and Jake Shields is one of my best training partners. Even though he’s a regular stance guy, it’s really good training; really good intensity, and he’s a really good partner for me, so I go out there and work.  So I spent some time out there, and I got some good training, and that was a part of my camp that I didn’t get to do last time because I was struggling a little bit. I couldn’t afford to get out there, and I didn’t want to put my family in a bad situation. This time I’m doing a little bit better, and I was able to afford a trip out there, and it worked out. I got really good training the last week.”

The fight with Ring is not only a welcomed opportunity to face another fighter who likes to come forward and engage, but also a matter of unfinished business, as McGee and his upcoming opponent shared the cage during Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, with the Canadian earning a questionable two-round decision win over “The Crusher” prior to a knee injury eliminating him from the competition.

Most people believed the close contest should have gone to a sudden victory round, including McGee, who is looking forward to the chance to renew acquaintances with Ring on Saturday night.

“I think it should have gone another round,” admitted McGee of his TUF tilt with Tito Ortiz’s first pick. “I’m not saying I should have won the fight, but I think it should have gone another round at least, and now we’ll get a chance to do it.

“Another thing too is that he’s a true martial artist. I know Nick Ring, and I’ve talked to him since the show, and he’s a true martial artist. He’s a good guy, and I like competing against guys like that. And he takes it serious. I mean, most everybody in the UFC takes it serious, but it’s good to compete against somebody that loves competing and who has the same passion for martial arts as I do.”

Despite having a great deal of respect for his upcoming opponent, McGee plans on starting another winning streak on Saturday night, and has designs on doing so in impressive fashion.

“I want to come out and hurt Nick Ring; finish him. I want to beat up Nick Ring, man. I want to come out and beat him, and that’s something that I’m going to do.”

Urijah Faber isn’t the UFC Bantamweight Champion. Yet, it is undeniable that the “California Kid” is the most famous 135-pound mixed martial artist in America—period.

The Sacramento product with the million-dollar smile and elite skills was the face of the WEC for the three years leading up to the decision by Zuffa to fold the fledgling promotion into the UFC. He has probably signed thousands of autographs during and after his reign as the WEC featherweight champ. His five successful defenses remains a WEC record.

Faber has used his star power to successfully market himself like no other bantamweight in domestic MMA history. The net result is a burgeoning business empire in his home city and, of course, regular headliner status on fight cards, which means big checks for strapping on the gloves and fighting.

Renan Barao doesn’t have any of that. He isn’t famous. Not in the US, at least. He hasn’t parlayed his athletic career into a diverse stream of business revenue. In fact, I’ll bet that most casual UFC fans don’t even recognize his name.

I’m sure Barao doesn’t care much. Why? His current 31-fight unbeaten streak is one of the longest in the history of the sport, and definitely the longest active unbeaten streak among the UFC’s current roster of fighters. That makes him the hottest fighter in the UFC, if not the planet.

I’m sure that causes Faber more concern than the former champion’s star power concerns Barao.

The two will face off in Saturday night’s main event for the interim UFC Bantamweight Championship. It’s a matchup that came about when reigning champion Dominick Cruz suffered a severe knee injury while training to defend his title for a second time against Faber.

Cruz will face the winner in his next bout, assuming he heals and returns to action in a reasonable time period.

Most will probably find this shocking, particularly since Barao is a late replacement opponent for Faber, but the Brazilian is a healthy favorite according to most online oddsmakers. In other words, UFC President Dana White didn’t give the hugely popular Faber a free pass to the title. He arguably handed him the best fighter in the world who doesn’t currently hold a UFC title.

Thanks, Boss. I’m sure those were Faber’s first thoughts, when he learned of his new opponent.

Make no mistake about it, however. Faber is a true champion. This guy isn’t afraid to fight anyone, including Barao. He has unbreakable confidence in his own abilities, and he surrounds himself with an amazing team of trainers and training partners to make sure that he is fully prepared for whomever he faces in combat.

Faber will probably approach this fight a little differently than in recent bouts. He hasn’t seemed as committed to his wrestling during his UFC stint compared to his days in the WEC. I think that is a big key to victory for him against Barao.

Faber, as most know, was an extremely successful collegiate wrestler at the University of California at Davis. He has tremendous explosion with his single- and double-leg takedowns. And once he gets a fight to the floor, Faber knows how to control an opponent while pounding away with fists and elbows.

Looking for a takedown may seem counterintuitive against an opponent with elite submission skills like Barao. After all, the Brazilian is probably at his highest comfort level when fighting on the ground. Nonetheless, Faber has amazing submission defense. He has faced plenty of ground wizards in his career and none have been successful in submitting him. Not once in 32 professional fights.

There are two reasons for that. First, he is a skilled Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner in his own right. He recognizes moves as they are coming and has a deep understanding on how to defend them. Second, and more important, Faber rarely gets put on his back. Plus, when he is in the top position, he is so active and has such great ground control that foes don’t have much of an opportunity to truly commit to submission attempts because they are so busy defending strikes, position and submissions.

Faber wants to do just that with Barao. I know Barao is a savage on the ground. But I firmly believe that Faber can keep him occupied and in defense mode without any great risk of getting swept or submitted from his back.

On the feet, Faber needs to be much more aggressive than he typically is. He needs to take the fight to Barao, who is a natural bully. That means pressing forward behind the jab and crisp one-two combinations. The key is to get Barao moving backward.

Barao may be the hottest fighter on the planet, but he didn’t necessarily look like a world beater when Scott Jorgensen pressed him on the feet in their last fight. Barao likes space. He likes to use his length. But he also likes to slug away in wild exchanges.

Faber should be intelligently aggressive. Press forward, exchange and then get out. He doesn’t want this to devolve into a slugfest with Barao. Faber is too talented on the feet to put himself at risk like that. Plus, Barao is a physical beast, so a slugfest opens the door for a spectacular knockout from one of his wild strikes.

If Faber avoids unnecessary exchanges and darts in and out with combinations, he should be able to pick apart Barao on the feet. Mix that in with a takedown or two, which will make Barao a bit more hesitant with his standup, and this becomes a very winnable fight for the ex-champion.

Flipping the switch, this is an immensely winnable fight for Barao, as well. Let’s start with the obvious. He is nearly eight years younger than Faber. It seems like 35 is the new 25 in the UFC, with so many elite competitors continuing into their late 30s. But the 33-year old Faber competes in the lighter weight classes, and the first thing to go with age is explosiveness. If Faber loses any of his quickness, then he will be susceptible when facing the division’s elite. The “California Kid” hasn’t shown any slippage in that area yet, but it is going to happen sooner or later. Barao hopes it happens on Saturday night.

Barao is also fresher than Faber. Despite having one more professional fight during his career than his foe, Barao has never been knocked out. Faber has been stopped twice. That may not seem like a big difference, but it is. Barao doesn’t have a ton of mileage on his engine. Faber is starting to accumulate it.

Barao also has better momentum. This guy hasn’t lost a fight since April 14, 2005. Thirty-one fights later, he is still going strong. Faber, by contrast, has lost four of his last 10. I personally disagree with one of those losses, but that is beside the point. There is something to be said for the intangible edge created by crazy long winning streaks. That intangible lies firmly with Barao.

On the feet, Barao isn’t nearly as technical as Faber. But he is no light lunch, either. What he brings to the dance is a long, sharp jab and a sick variety of vicious kicks. The kicks are a major key to victory for him.

Barao is a training partner of UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. That is important to note because Aldo faced and dominated Faber back in 2010. He did it principally through leg kicks. Aldo used that strike to completely incapacitate the then-champion. A fighter’s legs are the key to just about everything in fighting. Striking starts with the legs. Takedowns are highly dependent on legs. Movement is obviously dictated by healthy legs. And on and on.

Aldo brutalized Faber’s legs to the point where he was scoring knockdowns with leg kicks. Faber was left virtually defenseless while he suffered through a five-round bludgeoning.

Barao should do the exact same thing, with a twist. Rather than just hammer away at Faber’s legs, Barao should mix in spinning back kicks, high kicks and front kicks. This guy has tremendous speed with his kicks. And his ground game is so good that he probably won’t fear being taken down, despite that being one of my keys to Faber winning. His lack of fear of the takedown, mixed with brutalizing Faber’s legs, will actually make his kicks that much more effective, which, in turn, makes it that much tougher for Faber to get him to the ground.

At the end of the day, I think this fight is more even than most believe. I do think that Barao should be viewed as the favorite, but only by the slightest of margins. If Faber executes a great game plan without many material mistakes, he can certainly win the fight. Otherwise, Barao will likely be the one leaving Canada with interim gold draped over his shoulder.

QUICK FACTS:

Urijah Faber
•    33 years old
•    5’6, 135 pounds
•    69-inch reach
•    26-5 overall
•    3-2 in last 5
•    6-4 in last 10
•    6-4 in 10 UFC/WEC championship fights (lost last 3)
•    53.8% of wins by submission
•    26.9% of wins by KO/TKO
•    15.4% of wins by decision
•    3.9% of wins by DQ
•    Has never been submitted
•    40% of losses by KO/TKO
•    60% of losses by decision
•    Former WEC Featherweight Champion (5 successful defenses)
•    Zuffa Submission of the Night award four times
•    Zuffa Fight of the Night three times
•    Current layoff of 245 days is the longest of his career

Renan Barao
•    25 years old
•    5’6, 135 pounds
•    70-inch reach
•    30-1, 1 NC overall
•    Hasn’t lost since professional debut
•    60% of UFC/WEC wins by submission
•    40% of UFC/WEC wins by decision
•    No UFC/WEC wins by KO/TKO
•    Only career loss by decision
•    First major championship fight
•    UFC Fight of the Night once
•    Current layoff is 168 days
•    Longest layoff of career is 198 days

We only go with a Top Five for the unofficial half-year awards, and without fail, the best knockout category is always the toughest to narrow down to single digits. In 2012, it seems like it’s even harder to pick, but hey, here they are, and let the debates begin…

5 – Stephen Thompson KO1 Dan Stittgen
When it was announced that Stephen Thompson was making his Octagon debut at UFC 143 in February, diehard combat sports fans were excited to see the unbeaten kickboxing star getting his shot in the big show in MMA. Cynics, on the other hand, were waiting for him to fall so they could say that a pure kickboxer just couldn’t compete at the elite level in this hybrid sport. Thompson answered many of those questions against Dan Stittgen, the main one being, if he hits you flush with a kick to the head, it doesn’t matter who you are – you’re going down. That was the end result for Stittgen, who was knocked out with a picture perfect head kick at 4:13 of the first round (Watch Here).

4 – Dan Hardy KO 1 Duane Ludwig
Dan Hardy needed a win bad. Loser of four in a row, the former world title challenger was on the brink of UFC extinction when he stepped into the Octagon to meet up with Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC 146 in May. The good news was that he wasn’t going to be facing a smothering wrestler; the bad news was that Ludwig is one of the best technical strikers in the sport today. So with all the pressure on, “The Outlaw” bit down on his mouthpiece, landed a sizzling left hook on the button, and finished “Bang” at 3:51 of the first round (Watch Event). Awesome knockout? Yes. A redemptive one as well? Absolutely.

3 – Michael McDonald KO1 Miguel Angel Torres
While former WEC bantamweight champion and pound for pound list entrant Miguel Angel Torres was quietly crafting a comeback, California’s Michael McDonald was loudly crashing the UFC’s bantamweight division with increasingly impressive performances. At UFC 145 in April, these two diverse paths collided in Atlanta, and the 21-year old “Mayday” not only proved that he was ready for prime time by beating Torres (Watch Event), but he proved that he may even be ready for a shot at the title with a crushing first round knockout of the Indiana veteran. If you could think of a better coming out party, I’d sure like to hear it, because this one would be hard to top.

2 – Anthony Pettis KO1 Joe Lauzon
Let’s not mince words here. The Anthony Pettis that showed up against Clay Guida and Jeremy Stephens just wasn’t the “Showtime” we had come to know and love from his flashy days in the WEC. But at UFC 144 in February, the king of the highlight reel returned in style, knocking out fellow contender Joe Lauzon with a left kick to the head in just 81 seconds (Watch Event). After the bout, the gracious and self-effacing Lauzon simply tweeted “I’m in Japan for a few more days and was gonna look at buying a sword, but I think I’m gonna invest in a helmet instead.” The rest of the lightweight division would be wise to do the same.

1 – Edson Barboza KO3 Terry Etim
The ESPYs may have gotten it wrong in not awarding this its Play of the Year award, but the finalist there is a winner here, and in a year with some spectacular knockouts thus far, Edson Barboza’s wheel kick finish of Terry Etim at UFC 142 in January is far and away the best of the half-year. It had it all – speed, power, technique, accuracy, and pure ‘wow’ effect (Watch KO Watch Event). Etim was out the second he got caught by Barboza, and the scary part is that when asked about the finisher, the Brazilian Muay Thai expert said, “To be honest, no, I don’t train that kick much. I like to train the basic things like body kicks or low kicks. But I’ve known how to do that kick since I was eight years old, when I started training Muay Thai. I think I have been keeping it inside of my mind, and when I need it I throw it out.” Wow.

Honorable Mention: Nick Denis–Joseph Sandoval, Lavar Johnson–Joey Beltran, Siyar Bahadurzada–Paulo Thiago, Mike Pyle–Josh Neer, Eddie Wineland–Scott Jorgensen, Chris Weidman–Mark Munoz, Andrew Craig–Rafael Natal, Issei Tamura–Tiequan Zhang, Roy Nelson–Dave Herman, Martin Kampmann–Jake Ellenberger