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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
The UFC has finally found an opponent willing to face Urijah Faber, as it was announced late Thursday night that "The California Kid" will fight Frankie Saenz at UFC 194 in Las Vegas this December.
Faber coached the upcoming Ultimate Fighter 21 opposite Conor McGregor, and will now appear on the same card to close out the season.
The 36-year-old returns to bantamweight after a fight with Frankie Edgar earlier this year. A longtime successful veteran, Faber's loss to Edgar was his first loss in a non-title fight ever. He's won six of his last eight fights overall, and has never been beaten in a three-round fight.
Saenz enters what is easily the biggest fight of his career on a seven fight winning streak overall, which includes decision wins in all three of his fights in the UFC thus far.
UFC 194 will be headlined by the UFC Featherweight Championship bout between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor, airing live on pay-per-view on Dec. 12.
Penick's Analysis: There was apparently not a lot of interest from fighters in facing Faber in December, so it was going to wind up being someone much further down the rankings. Saenz takes a massive step up in competition from his last opponent, Sirwan Kakai, and though he has a win over another higher ranked bantamweight in Iuri Alcantara, that's by far the best opponent he's faced to date.
[Urijah Faber art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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