Two men at polar opposite points in their careers collide for a second crack at the most recent man to defeat each of them—Dominick Cruz.
For Urijah Faber, it’s a match that proves the game has not passed him by. At 32 years old, Faber is on the wrong side of his fighting prime. A drop to bantamweight proved fortuitous for the former featherweight kingpin, but he ran into the whirling dervish that is Dominick Cruz. After putting on a legitimate fight of the year candidate, Urijah found himself on the losing end of a decision.
Whispers are beginning that Urijah has already peaked and is now starting to decay. People question maintaining the same camp for years or the fact that he hasn’t effectively evolved his game in some time. Others say that the path he led to the top has simply allowed a more talented group of youth to catch him.
Whether the naysayers have any merit to their attacks or not, it is clear that Faber must make an emphatic statement against the former champion from Georgia.
For Brian Bowles, this match will get him a crack at a match he never technically lost. Despite Cruz running circles around him, Bowles was never in danger, and if it had not been for a broken hand, Bowles may have turned the tide. Lots of hypotheticals there, but a case can be made for Bowles’ reign being cut short due to an unlucky break… pardon the pun.
Bowles is virtually a mirror of Faber, with the slight difference being his raw power over Faber’s speed. He blends fluid wrestling and excellent top control with a dangerous guillotine and proficient striking. While more of his wins come via submission, these are normally after beating an opponent silly and catching an exposed neck or forcing them onto their belly for a rear naked choke.
When the two men collide, it could very well determine the future of the division, as Faber and Demetrious Johnson have both cracked the invincible facade surrounding Dominick Cruz.
Power
Faber believes himself to be the strongest wrestler in the division. After manhandling Takeya Mizugaki and Eddie Wineland, and planting Cruz on his rear a few times, it’s hard to disagree. He has fluid wrestling and sharp hooks that sting his opponents, but he hasn’t had a knockout in nearly five years.
His strong wrestling and clinch work are used to put his opponents down, where he uses a strong base to rain down short elbows and punches on his opponent.
Against Cruz, he showed a weakness to takedowns himself, which may be something Bowles can exploit. However, Cruz cleverly hid his intentions on the takedowns by using a strike-and-move offense that flustered Faber throughout their affair. Bowles may not be able to repeat the success, due to an entirely different toolbox.
The main attribute I could attribute to Bowles is his mind-numbing power in his shots. When he uncorks a hook, opponents find themselves drooling in a puddle on the Bud Light sign. He has numerous knockouts and submissions that are directly attributed to staggering his opponent with hard shots first.
His power double is something that no opponent has found a consistent answer for, and his ground-and-pound is just as shocking as his standup. In fact, his destruction of Miguel Torres on the ground may have forever affected the previous pound-for-pound great’s confidence.
Edge: Bowles
Speed
Bowles is a power-style fighter who relies more on a heavy base to wing off his powerful punches. That isn’t to say he can’t use more movement and sharper strikes: He can. What it does say is that he is confident in both his chin and his power that cornering an opponent and getting into a firefight will earn him a victory.
Faber, however, uses a more measured approach, flicking out jabs and crosses to get into range and throw short, compact hooks and uppercuts. He isn’t adverse to working the body and can fire out kicks quickly and return to his base before a counter is launched.
Once tied up, his transitions in the clinch from striking to fighting for a hook and dropping for a leg are mercurial, and many opponents simply freeze and await a chance to escape when they are tied up.
Look at the Eddie Wineland fight and his elbow shuck to a double-leg takedown in the clinch as an example of just how fast Faber really is.
Edge: Faber
Cardio
Both men are workhorses, stemming from long years wrestling before ever entering fighting. They come in prepared and ready to go from opening bell to final horn every match.
The real difference is their output during matches. Faber utilizes an incredibly pressure-heavy attack that forces his opponents to expend gross amounts of energy and burn out or make a mistake. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to call him a grinder, but at the speed at which he grinds, it would be more akin to a power washer or industrial sander.
Edge: Faber (slight)
Striking
Urijah’s striking regiment is three dimensional, and he understands when to use different strikes. He maintains distance well and can either keep the fight standing or force it to the mat using a combination of footwork and a good sprawl.
He also transitions well from punches to elbows, something he is particularly adept at after facing Mike Brown with a broken and a sprained hand.
Bowles is something of an enigma in the striking department, as he has the ability to be two different fighters at any given time.
One round he keeps his hands tight to his chin, stays light on his feet and uses great head movement to avoid strikes while popping off one- and two-punch jab/cross combos.
The next round, he drops his hands and stalks in, throwing meat-cleaver hooks and stump-ripping uppercuts. He leaves himself vulnerable to counter strikes, but is clearly hunting for a knockout. While it’s clear that he leaves himself open to be caught, Faber hasn’t proven to have the knockout power in recent matches to make Bowles pay.
Edge: Bowles
Clinch
Both men, as wrestlers, are comfortable tied up with their opponent and know how to handle themselves to either keep the fight on the feet or transition to dump their victim. What sets them apart is their methods in the clinch.
Bowles, again, can be seen hunting for power shots. He is able to pick out a perfect time to lock on a guillotine, however, something he showed in the first Damacio Page fight.
Faber, however, has a highlight reel made up of brilliance in the clinch. He hits quick elbows and covers up again before the opponent has a chance to respond. If he breaks the clinch, a hook will always sting his opponent, as it did Cruz, Mizugaki, Wineland and Raphael Assuncao.
His takedowns from the clinch aren’t as elite as his double- and single-leg shots, but they are more than above average, and using the misdirection of his strikes leaves him free to pluck a leg off the ground to further his game plan.
Edge: Faber
Ground
Brian Bowles looks to bring the pain on the ground. He will stand up to win the guard and throw punches with little to no regard for his opponent’s submission skills. Even more daunting: He’s effective. Whether it’s the power or the frequency of the punches, opponents will more often cover up than grab a leg and sweep or attempt to attack a limb.
His double leg, while not technically as perfect as Urijah’s, more than makes up for the difference in horsepower, as he barrels through his opponents. His base is somewhat high and wide, but it allows him to throw down heavy ordnance while the person on the receiving end just looks for a way to escape.
Faber uses chained takedowns that rely more on technical brilliance than they do torque. He will shoot for a double, transition to a single, and turn the corner if stopped at that point. Should this fail, too, he simply drives into the clinch, puts them on the fence and repeats the process.
Once he is on the ground, Faber uses a varied attack to throw shots whilst moving to pass the guard. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt has shown increased brilliance with his passes in the last few years and has very underrated sweeps when on the bottom.
In the end, if both men gas, Faber’s technical acumen will carry him further than Bowles’ strength.
Edge: Faber
Intangibles
Bowles is looking to make a very strong message against Faber, after his last lukewarm performance against Mizugaki left fans soured. It may cause him to be very aggressive and make a mistake. Regardless, keep an eye out for Bowles leaving himself open in hopes of finishing the California Kid.
Urijah has world of experience in big, important, title-implication-type matches that Bowles simply doesn’t. Urijah has faced nearly every archetype in mixed martial arts and had great success against nearly all of them. He knows veteran tricks that Bowles, while not green by any means, simply hasn’t come across in his career.
One important outlier in the previous statement is Mike Brown. Brown was able to bully Faber with raw power, avoid takedowns and punish Faber. Don’t expect Bowles to miss either of those matches as clear lessons on how he can best beat Faber.
That said, Brown is a very big featherweight, and Faber, dropping down to bantamweight, should be about even with Bowles.
This humble writer’s prediction:
Faber uses a smart, in-and-out approach against Bowles that both frustrates and tires Bowles en route to making a mistake by leaving his neck exposed during a takedown in the third.
Faber will cinch in a guillotine choke for the win and set up a rubber match with UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.
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At Thursday’s UFC 139 press conference, UFC President Dana White will be joined by fighters Dan Henderson, Shogun Rua, Wanderlei Silva, Cung Le, Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles, and we’ll carry the video live here at MMAFighting.com.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Bantamweight champion 
When fighting 
Will