5 Reasons Why Eddie Wineland Could Beat Urijah Faber

I want Urijah Faber to win at UFC 128: “Shogun vs. Jones” this Saturday. That’s no secret, nor is my hope that he wins dramatically and with a dominant performance. But that does not mean that I’m counting out his opponent, Eddie Wineland. It seems I’m one of the few, though, as many people are considering Wineland an after-thought. So in my own attempt to shift some perceptions, here’s a new entry in my “5 Reasons Why” series. We’ll start with five reasons why Eddie Wineland could beat Urijah Faber, with the reverse soon to follow.

5. Urijah Faber is still very unproven at Bantamweight.

Urijah Faber has had one fight at Bantamweight in this most-recent run at 135. Eddie Wineland has fought his entire career at Bantamweight. In this latest drop down in weight, Faber easily dispatched of former WEC Bantamweight Championship challenger Takeya Mizugaki. But if we’re being honest, Mizugaki was a “gimme” fight and Wineland is on an entirely different level. Faber beating Mizugaki didn’t make him a top-division Bantamweight… it simply gave him a little breathing room. When it comes to Faber turning this drop down into a successful comeback… the jury’s still out on that one.

4. Wineland has (T)KO’d his last two opponents, with both finishes earning “Knockout of the Night” honors.

On June 20, 2010, Eddie Wineland knocked out Will Campuzano in the dying minutes of the second round. On December 16, 2010, he slammed Ken Stone into unconsciousness before the end of the first round… before the end of the third minute, in fact. With those two wins, Wineland now has a majority of his wins by (T)KO: almost double that of his wins by submission, and three times that of his wins by decision. He’ll need that stopping power to beat a man that’s only been stopped two times in almost thirty fights.

3. Wineland is on a great four-fight win-streak.

A four-fight win-streak is better than a two-fight win-streak even if you (T)KO’d your last two opponents. Fortunately for Wineland, he holds both those accolades simultaneously. The last time Eddie Wineland lost a fight was in April 2009, almost two full years ago. Since then, Wineland has both fought consistently and consistently won his fights. Meanwhile, since 2008 Faber has followed an interesting pattern: he wins one in dominating fashion, then he gets dominated and loses. For a man that used to hold a record of 21-1, Faber has lost three out of his last six fights. And guess what: his last fight was a dominant win.

2. Wineland is a former WEC Bantamweight Champion. The first Bantamweight Champion, in fact.

Although he did lose the belt in his first defense, Eddie Wineland holds the distinction of being the first-ever WEC Bantamweight Champion. That’s simply not an accolade that goes away. Faber is also a former Bantamweight Champion, but it was in a smaller promotion. At one time, Wineland was the best of the best. And even though he’s yet to realize that pinnacle again, that’s still a tremendous feather in his cap.

And the number-one reason why I think Eddie Wineland could beat Urijah Faber is…

1. This is one of the biggest fights of Wineland’s career.

There’s already one big example of a former WEC star derailing the hype train of a bigger WEC star in the UFC: Dustin Poirer. Poirer was a “gimme” fight for Josh Grispi, who was originally intended to face Jose Aldo and had won his last ten fights. But Poirer shocked the world: not only did he defeat Grispi, he outright dominated him. In MMA, anything can happen if you train hard enough and want it badly enough. And that’s the major reason why I think Eddie Wineland could beat Urijah Faber.

And that’s that, fans and friends. Stay tuned for Part 2, covering five reasons why Urijah Faber could beat Eddie Wineland. But for now, what do you think about Eddie Wineland possibly defeating Urijah Faber?