Faber vs. Barao: Why Urijah Faber Is Destined to Win a Title at UFC 149

Renan Barao enters UFC 149 on a well-publicized 28-game win streak, and is a 1/2 favorite to take home the Interim Bantamweight Championship. At the end of the night, however, Urijah Faber will be the one standing tall.

Faber's career got off on an ecstatically successful start, racking up every accolade in sight. He won the KOTC Bantamweight Championship over Eben Kaneshiro in 2004 and successfully defended it four times in the subsequent 23 months. Around the same time, he also won the WEC Featherweight Championship and defended it five times in a 27-month stretch.

All in all, between November 14th, 2004 and November 4th, 2008, Faber was 11-0 in title fights, a record that made him one of the most feared fighters in the world––someone who rose to the occasion when the occasion called for it.

But then, on the fateful night of November 5th, 2008––almost four full years since his first Championship––Faber was knocked off his throne of invincibility, suffering a brutal TKO at the hands of Mike Brown.

His WEC Featherweight belt was gone, as was his swagger. He lost another bout for the WEC Championship seven months later, again at the hands of Brown, this time via unanimous decision. After the WEC merged with the UFC, Faber fought Dominic Cruz for the UFC Bantamweight title, and lost again.

After winning his first 11 title fights, Urijah Faber has now lost his last three. So why, exactly, will he take the Interim Bantamweight Championship at UFC 149?

Because 2012 is a special year...it's the year of the breakthrough.

Renan Barao is the Oklahoma City Thunder to Faber's LeBron, the Kansas Jayhawks to Faber's Calipari. He's a talented, worthy competitor, but he's ultimately fodder in the year of the breakthrough.

Urijah Faber has suffered enough disappointment since his fateful loss to Mike Brown in 2008. He'll be hoisting his first UFC belt at the end of the night tonight, and Barao is ultimately just a narrative device standing in the way of his storybook ending.