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Report: Faber vs. Pulver II set for 1/25 in San Diego
By Zach Arnold | November 25, 2008
Five Ounces of Pain has more details.
On one level, the booking makes sense. It gives Faber a chance to get a win back against an opponent he thoroughly dominated. It also gives Pulver the chance at one last big pay day. It also ensures that we’re going to see Mike Brown vs. Leonard Garcia for the 145-pound title, which is interesting because Garcia has a good shot at winning that fight. If the thought process is that Brown can get a win over Garcia to build up his name value, it is a somewhat risky move. I do think Garcia vs. Faber is an attractive match-up and more winnable for Faber than if he had to face Brown in a re-match.
The fight is also a minor kick-in-the-pants for Affliction, which runs the Honda Center the day before with Fedor vs. Arlovski.
Addendum: Joe Silva is handling more of the booking now in WEC, reportedly.
Topics: MMA, Media, WEC, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
Part of the interest with the first fight was that Pulver was at his “natural weight” and Faber had yet to be tested by a name opponent. This totally lacks that. It does, however, postition the two most recognizable faces in the WEC against one another. However without the title and with both men’s prestige tarnished following their last KO losses, I find it desperately hard to get excited about this.
If Couture/Liddell IV is the MMA equivalent of Jones/Tarver III (which it is), then this fight is the equal of, say, Hopkins/Allen III. Essentially pointless and merely an exercise in sanctioning body/promoter lazyness. What does it say about the WEC that they’ve built no one at this point that anyone wants to watch?
I’m not sure which rematch I am least interested in…. Pulver/Faber 2 or Couture/Liddell 4.
At least with Silva/Jackson, we are guaranteed a fun fight. Not so sure about the above two.
Pointless match…Why not Faber vs Aldo?
Regardless, I’ll be there live if its at Sports Arena since that’s only 10 mins from my apartment.
Affliction on Sat & WEC on Sunday = sweet weekend.
And even as a huge Silva mark, I have to say there’s a bit more intrigue to them fighting under “UFC rules” and with the “new” Rampage.
I still think it’s likely we’ll see a stand-up war, but Jackson’s boxing has gotten a lot better…who knows where his head is at however.
According to intheguard.tv Aldo is preparing to face Garcia. Which tells me this is just a way to get Urijah back as the #1 contender quickly for a Brown rematch then Garcia will face winner of Brown vs Faber II.
Wow, they are screwing over Garcia. He deserves that title shot. Zuffa is not impressive lately with the way they are handling their belts. More politics then boxing.
45 Huddle…
http://fiveouncesofpain.com/2008/11/25/mike-thomas-browns-first-defense-likely-to-take-place-vs-leonard-garcia/
Hopefully that is the case. Garcia deserves the shot.
Ideal situation would be Brown vs Garcia for the title, and Faber vs Aldo in the semi-main for the next shot.