The current featherweight champion Jose Aldo acquired the WEC belt after defeating Mike Brown at WEC 44. He has yet to defend his title, but may very well face the ‘California Kid’ Urijah Faber next as part of WEC’s first-ever pay-per-view main event.
Immediatley after Faber’s impressive submission victory over Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Raphael Assuncao at WEC 46, Aldo was asked to step in the cage to share his thoughts on a possible featherweight title match sometime this year. Faber seems to have convinced MMA fans as well as the WEC that he is the no.1 title shot contender today.
Snip from WEC General Manager Reed Harris:
“I would think that as we move toward [pay-per-view, Aldo vs. Faber] would be a great pay-per-view…I think the fans would pay to see that fight…We haven’t talked about that, but I’ve got to tell you, after seeing the crowd tonight, I don’t think it would ever be too soon (to return to ARCO Arena)…Sacramento is one of the most successful places we can do an event…Obviously, the card tonight was another stellar card. I would bet you that probably 80 percent of the people that were here tonight were here at our last show. That’s how you build your fan base, and that’s how, even in a bad economy, we come to Sacramento and we still do over 10,000 people in this place. We’re very, very happy…There’s a lot of things that we look at that go into doing [a pay-per-view], and we want to make sure that our first one is very, very successful…We need to do more than just one good fight on that card. We want to put together a card where people are basically saying they cannot miss it.”
Snip from Jose Aldo:
“I respect Urijah, but no one takes my belt”
Snip from Urijah Faber:
“I‘ve gotta bring my A-game…He’s a tough guy, but in my mind, that’s my belt…I’m hoping it will be fairly quick…I didn’t take any injuries tonight, and I had a long layoff with my hand last time…[Aldo] is an exciting fighter. It kind of reminds me of the Randy Couture-Vitor Belfort – ‘The Phenom’ with the hands and the crafty veteran. It’s funny that I’m the veteran at this point, but I’m looking forward to a knock-down, drag-out. Two exciting guys, and hopefully it happens soon…I would like that ARCO allows the ‘Urijah Faber Head on a Stick,’ though…Apparently they stopped my crew from passing those out. I was expecting to see a bunch of bobbleheads out there. Maybe we can talk to the people in charge and get the bobbleheads out there.”
Snip from Mike Brown who defeated Urijah Faber twice before, but lost to Jose Aldo:
“I’d say Aldo is the better striker…He keeps his defense very tight, and he’s got a lot of weapons. Not only the punches, but the knees make him dangerous because you try to take a shot, or you try to slip punches, and you’re going to get hit with a knee… But Urijah’s got the better wrestling, and he’s got that great scramble ability, which makes him very dangerous…I just want front row seats to it. That’s all I want. I don’t know who’s going to win.”
