So I dont know about yall, but my money is on Faber, I have always liked him although he really seems like a cocky a** this time. Idk you decide, tell me who yall think will win.
I mean you gotta love the confidence and the outlook on the sport but, it seems a little too much.
On Saturday, Faber, the California-born mixed martial arts fighter with the Kirk Douglas cleft in his chin, is fighting the guy who took that belt away from Brown, Jose Aldo.
Poor guy has no chance. No, no. Not Faber. Aldo. Or so says Faber, who hopes to celebrate his 31st birthday next month with a big ol' belt around his midsection by stopping the 23-year-old Brazilian before what's sure to be a partisan crowd in Faber's native Sacramento.
“I match up great with Aldo because I'm fast and my grappling is the highest level,” said Faber, a former Division I wrestler at UC-Davis, where he earned a degree in human development. He finished his final NCAA campaign with the Aggies as one of the top 12 wrestlers in his weight class and for a while after graduation remained at the school to coach the lightweight wrestlers.
“I'm also extremely durable and really well-rounded,” said Faber. “I have a history of submitting black belts and guys that are accomplished in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world. I'm extremely creative, and I'm known for doing off the wall things.”
Makes you kind of wonder why Aldo is even going to bother showing up at ARCO Arena.
“I was the top 145-pounder for almost three-and-a-half years, and I had only two losses, to Mike Brown,” Faber said. “My last fight against Mike Brown, I actually broke my [right] hand in the first round and I dislocated my thumb on the other hand in the third round.
“It was kind of a fight that definitely had some disadvantages to me, but I continued through and I still did fairly well,” he said. The three judges scored the fight, 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for Brown.
That does not bode well for the young Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt champion who wrested the title from Brown, at least according to Faber.
“Brown and I as fighters are completely different,” Faber said. “I'm a lot faster than he is. He has pretty fundamental wrestling and mine is off the wall. . . . This is going to be a completely different match than what Brown and he had.”
So get ready for Brown and Faber Part III.
“WHEN I win this fight,” said Faber, adding the emphasis, “it's going to be taking on whoever the WEC [World Extreme Cagefighting] feels is the next guy in line for the title. That'll most likely be a rematch with Mike Brown.”
“I would imagine so, with him having two wins over me and me having the title. I think it'd be the natural thing, and only fair.”
“The California Kid” definitely is not lacking for confidence.
That might be because of his training regimen, as many as six hours a day doing drills, practicing grappling, kickboxing or mixed-martial arts sparring. Or maybe some of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu that is the cornerstone of the sport.
Even if he loses to Aldo – a possibility he acknowledges but sees as remote at best – Faber plans to stay in the MMA game.
“For me, it's a lifestyle,” he said. “Win, lose or draw, it's not going to change my life. I'm still going to be dedicated to that and take it wherever it goes.”
Poor guy has no chance. No, no. Not Faber. Aldo. Or so says Faber, who hopes to celebrate his 31st birthday next month with a big ol' belt around his midsection by stopping the 23-year-old Brazilian before what's sure to be a partisan crowd in Faber's native Sacramento.
“I match up great with Aldo because I'm fast and my grappling is the highest level,” said Faber, a former Division I wrestler at UC-Davis, where he earned a degree in human development. He finished his final NCAA campaign with the Aggies as one of the top 12 wrestlers in his weight class and for a while after graduation remained at the school to coach the lightweight wrestlers.
“I'm also extremely durable and really well-rounded,” said Faber. “I have a history of submitting black belts and guys that are accomplished in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world. I'm extremely creative, and I'm known for doing off the wall things.”
Makes you kind of wonder why Aldo is even going to bother showing up at ARCO Arena.
“I was the top 145-pounder for almost three-and-a-half years, and I had only two losses, to Mike Brown,” Faber said. “My last fight against Mike Brown, I actually broke my [right] hand in the first round and I dislocated my thumb on the other hand in the third round.
“It was kind of a fight that definitely had some disadvantages to me, but I continued through and I still did fairly well,” he said. The three judges scored the fight, 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for Brown.
That does not bode well for the young Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt champion who wrested the title from Brown, at least according to Faber.
“Brown and I as fighters are completely different,” Faber said. “I'm a lot faster than he is. He has pretty fundamental wrestling and mine is off the wall. . . . This is going to be a completely different match than what Brown and he had.”
So get ready for Brown and Faber Part III.
“WHEN I win this fight,” said Faber, adding the emphasis, “it's going to be taking on whoever the WEC [World Extreme Cagefighting] feels is the next guy in line for the title. That'll most likely be a rematch with Mike Brown.”
“I would imagine so, with him having two wins over me and me having the title. I think it'd be the natural thing, and only fair.”
“The California Kid” definitely is not lacking for confidence.
That might be because of his training regimen, as many as six hours a day doing drills, practicing grappling, kickboxing or mixed-martial arts sparring. Or maybe some of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu that is the cornerstone of the sport.
Even if he loses to Aldo – a possibility he acknowledges but sees as remote at best – Faber plans to stay in the MMA game.
“For me, it's a lifestyle,” he said. “Win, lose or draw, it's not going to change my life. I'm still going to be dedicated to that and take it wherever it goes.”