Urijah Faber’s Coach: He’s Hungry And He Won’t Lose This Fight
Urijah Faber finds himself with yet another huge opportunity, this time in the form of a UFC 169 title fight against Renan Barao. In former champ Dominick Cruz’s absence, the two top Bantamweights will fight for the vacant strap. Faber faces a tough challenge in Barao, especially considering ‘Baron’ beat ‘The California Kid’ at UFC 149.
Faber is coming off an epic 2013; beating Iuri Alcantara, Michael MacDonald, Scott Jorgensen and Ivan Menjivar. He was the clear choice to replace Cruz after he was injured. Faber’s Jiu Jitsu coach Fabio Prado stopped by at MMAFighting.com to discuss his fighter’s current mindset:
“He went to Mexico on vacation for two weeks and it was great, because now he’s completely recovered and free of injuries. He never stops training, so it was good that he relaxed for two weeks. He’s hungry, man.”
“He told me ‘Fabio, when I came back (to the U.S.) Dana White called me and asked if I would take the fight (with Barao), and I took it immediately. I never felt so good in my life.’ His mentality is great. He’s confident, he’s hungry, and he won’t lose this fight.”
Barao is currently riding an astonishing 32-fight unbeaten streak, most recently beating the living daylights out of Eddie Wineland at UFC 165. ‘Baron’ was crowned the interim Bantamweight champ after his win against Faber at 149 and is widely considered as a top pound-for-pound fighter.
That being said, Faber is a changed fighter and his striking is light years ahead of the first time he and Barao met. His reinvention has the whole MMA world watching with a keen eye and a win might prove that he is only just reaching his prime.
“We’re working on the mistakes. We changed a lot. We’ll have something new. Not only with jiu-jitsu, but his striking is much better now. He has evolved a lot since that fight. We have to respect Barao’s jiu-jitsu, but I believe in Faber everywhere the fight goes.”
“It’s the icing on the cake,” he said. “We started the year with the right foot, with TJ Dillashaw’s win (at UFC Fight Night 35), and now it’s time to get another one with Faber. Faber will keep the pressure all the time, he won’t stop. I’m sure that Barao will be ready for five rounds because he was training to fight Dominick Cruz, so I know this is going to be the fight of the night.
I’m excited to see how the Bantamweight title picture turns out at UFC 169. The Prudential Centre, Newark, New Jersey will play host to this epic clash and will be co-mained by a Featherweight title tilt between Jose Aldo and Ricardo Lamas. Bring on February 1st
