Urijah Faber charging towards the gold following fourth straight win
There was a palpable buzz in the arena on Saturday night when Urijah Faber hit the cage.
A hometown favorite that grew up and called Sacramento home for years, Faber was greeted with the loudest ovation of the night as he hit the cage. Some fighters will discount what it means to have the crowd on their side, but 'The California Kid' fed off the energy and turned it into a flawless performance in the Octagon.
Faber wasted no time grabbing McDonald's leg and putting him on his back with the entire crowd in Sacramento's Sleep Train Arena chanting his name in unison. Despite his position on top, Faber fails to capitalize much while on the ground so referee Herb Dean is forced to stand them back up again. On the feet despite a huge disparity in power, Faber didn't back down from trading with McDonald while managing to land a few winging punches and kicks while staying out of his opponent's range.
McDonald seemed hesitant to engage after the first takedown put him on his back for the better part of three minutes, but it didn't deter Faber from coming forward. Faber's quick feet and combinations confused McDonald with just over a minute expired in the second round he hurt the 22-year old bantamweight with an explosive barrage of punches.
McDonald scrambled and tried to get away but Faber pursued landing two more big right hands that put his opponent on the ground.
Faber pounced, smelling blood in the water as McDonald tried to regain his composure but it wasn't mean to be. As he jumped on the ground, Faber locked up his signature guillotine choke and rolled to his back where McDonald had no choice but to tap out.
The stoppage came at 3:22 in round two.
Faber was just overwhelming from the moment the fight started until it ended as he out landed McDonald 59-11 in total strikes before sinking in the guillotine choke to get the finish.
The win marks Faber's (30-6) fourth win in a row, and he remains undefeated in non-title fights during his entire career. It's also going to be hard to deny Faber the next shot at the belt after yet another impressive performance, this time dispatching of the No. 3 bantamweight in the world in relatively easy fashion.
Faber will now likely start looking at the UFC 169 main event between Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao for his next opponent as he targets another shot at the bantamweight belt next year.
