4 Preliminary Card Predictions For UFC 175

1. Urijah Faber vs. Alex Caceres

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK0oBGfgF0M Weight Class: Bantamweight And so we come to the headlining bout of the UFC 175 preliminary card, a bout featuring the ever-popular Urijah Faber (30-7), who tends to headline or co-headline main cards, not prelims. Faber's doing the company a favour here, and he's ever the company man. He's the type of fighter who, even if you don't like him, you have to respect him: he'll fight anyone, he'll take short notice fights, he's a great representative of the sport, and he's damn fun to watch. His opponent, Alex "Bruce Leeroy" Caceres (10-5), is probably biting off more than he can chew here. UFC fans sure think so, as a poll on the UFC's Facebook page has 93% calling a Faber win, with 56% of those expecting a submission. It's hard to argue with them. Faber has never lost outside of title fights. That's right - his 7 losses have all been in title fights. He's one of the best fighters to have never won gold in the UFC, and lost twice to former bantamweight champ Renan Barao. He's the number two ranked bantamweight - but don't expect him to see another title shot in that weight class so long as team mate T.J. Dillashaw holds the belt. So it's fun fights and odd match-ups for a while for Faber, unless he decides to either retire (doesn't seem that likely) or change weight classes (he's done so before). Caceres is one of those fun fights. He's an exciting fighter with a unique image, highly marketable if he ever breaks out and goes on a tear, but I really, really don't see him winning this. He did spoil Sergio Pettis' debut, but he was losing that fight til he locked in a submission. He'd also have a 5-fight win streak were it not for a positive marijuana test, but guys like Roland Delorme and Motonobu Tezuka aren't even in the same solar system as Faber talent-wise. I'm going with the masses here: Faber takes this fight via submission, in the second round. This, however, could be a Fight of the Night contender, as I do expect Bruce Leeroy to be a game opponent.