The UFC 139: Shogun vs. Hendo event will feature a bantamweight clash between two former champions in Brian Bowles and Urijah Faber. Faber just lost a close decision to current champion Dominick Cruz in his last outing and Bowles is looking to make it three straight wins to move closer to a rematch with Cruz himself. This should be a very competitive fight, so let’s see how it shakes out.

Brian Bowles comes into this fight with a career record of (10-1) with six wins via submission and three via TKO/KO. Bowles was last seen in action winning a unanimous decision against Takeya Mizugaki in July. The only blemish on Bowles record is a TKO loss to Dominick Cruz in which Bowles suffered a broken hand which caused the fight to be stopped. A broken hand is a common theme for Bowles as that has happened a few times in his career. He has good power in his hands, is well versed in submissions, and is known to be a finisher as he’s only gone to the judges scorecard once in his career.

Urijah Faber comes into this fight with a career record of (25-5) with 13 wins via submission and 7 via TKO/KO. Faber was last seen in action losing a close decision to current champion Dominick Cruz. Faber is known for his quickness, unorthodox style, and ability to transition really well. He’s fairly well rounded with his skillset, but is willing to take chances and put himself in bad positions at times.

Bet on Fighting has Faber as the betting favorite at (-220) and Bowles as the underdog at (+180).

It might be worth it to put a small wager on Bowles here. He’s well rounded with striking solid enough to test Faber standing and he’s good enough on the ground to avoid being submitted.

This fight is going to be won in the scrambles and transitions as both fighters have similar skillsets. I think Faber will enjoy a slight speed advantage which could serve him well, but he will have to be aware of the power of Bowles while on the feet. Bowles does a very good job of coming forward with flurries of punches and it’s possible for him to hurt Faber and put him away. However, I expect Faber to use a great deal of movement to create angles to strike and create opportunities to put Bowles on his back which isn’t easy to do. The winner of this fight will be the fighter that executes his gameplan the best.

I think Bowles feels his best chance of winning is keeping the fight on the feet and trusting in the power advantage he has. I expect Faber to use his striking to score and set up is takedowns which could lead to scrambles and transitions where he is best at. However, he’ll have to be aware of the guillotine choke as Bowles has that move patented and has put a lot of guys away with it. I expect this fight to be very competitive and it will probably go to the judges with the difference being the speed and volume of strikes that Faber brings to the table to win it.

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