UFC 139 Results: Urijah Faber Flattens Brian Bowles to Earn Rematch with Cruz

The trilogy is on! With a flurry of fists and knees, Urijah Faber bowled over Brian Bowles at UFC 139 to earn another shot at the bantamweight belt by way of a third fight with Dominick Cruz.

The two fighters, both former champions in the WEC—Faber at featherweight, Bowles at bantamweight—got off to a slow start before "The California Kid" turned up the aggression knob to 11, striking Bowles with a series of uppercuts before scoring a guillotine takedown. Bowles struggled to get back on his feet while using leverage against the cage, but eventually shed Faber with an upkick. Faber, undeterred, got back down on Bowles and smothered him to end the round.

The second round was all Faber, all the time—first with a huge uppercut, then a devastating knee, followed by (you guessed it) another uppercut to send Bowles back to the mat. After a back-and-forth struggle, Faber finally subdued Bowles with a guillotine choke, forcing a stoppage at the 4:49 mark of the round.

With that, Faber guaranteed himself a rubber match with "The Dominator," just over four months after Cruz curried favor with the judges for a unanimous victory in five rounds at UFC 132. These two WEC adversaries figure to headline a UFC event sometime in the winter of 2012 in a fight that will bring a shower of attention to the bantamweight division.

As for Bowles, he'll head back to Athens, Georgia to regroup from his first UFC defeat, with the opportunity to work his way back into title contention, perhaps even against former WEC rival Miguel Torres, still on tap.