Urijah Faber expects to return at UFC 175; Mendes targets Aug 2 for Aldo rematch
Two of Team Alpha Males top fighters are gearing up for fights this summer, including a hotly anticipated rematch with a title on the line.
Chad Mendes -- currently ranked No. 1 in the world at 145 pounds -- is targeting August 2 for a showdown with featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Mendes was confirmed as the next opponent for Aldo by UFC president Dana White when speaking to FOX Sports in Orlando last week.
Now it appears the fighters are looking at an early August date on pay-per-view for their rematch. Aldo knocked out Mendes the first time they met, but since that time the former NCAA All-American has gone undefeated with five straight victories including four of them by knockout or TKO.
In addition to Mendes fighting for the title in August, Team Alpha Male fighter and captain Urijah Faber is also expected a return to the Octagon about a month earlier with the UFC 175 card in Las Vegas.
Faber's manager tells UFC Tonight that he is expected to fight on the July 5 card as part of International Fight Week in Las Vegas, but there's only one problem -- he doesn't have an opponent.
The former WEC champion ran roughshod over most of the bantamweight division with the exception of his loss to champion Renan Barao. The only top 10 fighters that Faber hasn't already faced and defeated are Mike Easton and Alex Caceres (Dominick Cruz is at No. 9 but still out due to injury) outside of his teammate TJ Dillashaw, who is already fighting for the title at UFC 173.
It leaves Faber in a precarious position where he wants to fight and the UFC hopes to have him fight on the already stacked UFC 175 card, but there's just been no word on an opponent as of yet.
