On July 21, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced two high profile match ups for their Bantamweight division. The biggest match up is the announcement of the next championship bout for the division title when reigning champion Dominick "The Dominator" Cruz (18-1-0) will look to defend his UFC title for the second time (fourth including his WEC title defenses) against #1 contender Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson (9-1-0) at UFC on Versus Live 6 in Washington D.C., USA televised free on October 1. The second announcement will most likely act as a #1 contendership eliminator, though that has yeat to be confirmed, when former WEC Featherweight champion Urijah "The California Kid" Faber (25-5-0) takes on former WEC Bantamweight champion Brian Bowles (10-1-0) at UFC 139 in San Jose, CA on November 19.
Cruz vs Johnson will finally answer the question that that fans and analysts have been asking. Following UFC 132: Cruz vs Faber II, Cruz stood with his hand raised successfully defending his new UFC title for the first time as the promotion's inaugural Bantamweight champion, but the big question on everybody's mind was who he would fight next. Leading up to the event, there was no mention at all about who was or would be considered the divsion's #1 title contender. Following much speculation, the top three contenders were Faber for a trilogy match to settle the score, Demetrious Johnson who is the only one who has not fought Cruz as of yet, and Brian Bowles who has gone on a two fight win streak since losing his title to Cruz. Following a four fight win streak that includes a dominant win over top Japanese Bantamweight Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and an impressive back-&-forth grappling match with former WEC division champion Miguel Torres. With this title fight set with two of the most entertaining and fast paced fighters in the division, and being televised free for all to see, fans can expect nonstop action from both competitors.
Faber vs Bowles sets up will should be an entertaining contenders bout when two former champions meet with the winner moving another step closer to reclaiming gold. With Faber coming off a close loss for the title and Bowles coming off a strong win, a win for both competitors would shoot them to the top of the list and likely fight for the title some time in the first half of 2012. With two heavy handed wrestlers meeting in the cage, this will prove to be an entertaining bout whether it stays standing or ends up on the ground. Included on the same card where reigning UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will look to defend his title against #1 contender Junior dos Santos, this bout will be included on an already high profile event.
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