Urijah Faber motivated for UFC 149 bout with Renan Barao
Urijah Faber, from Sacramento, Calif., works out at a gym in Calgary, Alberta, Canada leading into UFC 149. (July 18, 2012) Credit: AP
Although the chance to defeat his archrival evaporated when Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz tore ligaments in his knee, Urijah Faber seems plenty motivated heading into Saturday night's UFC 149 main event against
Renan Barao.
Faber, the former WEC featherweight champion, can capture the interim UFC bantamweight title with a victory over Barao. The event, which will be held at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, can be seen live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. PDT.
"Everything is about being the best," said the 33-year-old Faber, who fights out of Sacramento, Calif. "If I'm fighting Barao now; I'm not thinking about Dominick at all. I could care less about Dominick Cruz. The only reason I deal with him is because I have to. And, right now, I don't have to, so I'll cross that bridge when I get there."
Barao, a 25-year-old Brazilian, suffered his lone loss in the first professional fight of his career. He has gone 28-0 with a no contest since 2005, including two wins in the WEC and three in the UFC.
"Renan is very well-rounded," said Faber, 26-5. "I would say 99-percent of these guys that get these title shots are well-rounded. I think, probably, the thing that he has going for him is just the confidence in coming off 29 wins. He's human just like anyone else. That long streak is going to come to an end. I'm the one to do it. All these long streaks come to an end."
Middleweight Hector Lombard will make his UFC debut against Tim Boetsch on the card. Lombard, the former Bellator middleweight champion, is undefeated in his last 25 fights.
The main card also features heavyweights Cheick Kongo vs. Shawn Jordan, welterweights Brian Ebersole vs. James Head and welterweights Chris Clements vs. Matt Riddle.
The preliminaries, which can be seen live on FX at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT, include: middleweights Court McGee vs. Nick Ring; bantamweights Roland Delorme vs. Francisco Rivera; light heavyweights Ryan Jimmo vs. Anthony Perosh; bantamweights Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon; featherweights Antonio Carvalho vs. Daniel Pineda; and lightweights Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen.
