Wineland Expects to ‘Fluster’ Faber with Punches

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While speculation spreads that Urijah Faber could be an interesting coach opposite Dominick Cruz on an upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Eddie Wineland gets the feeling that Faber is supposed to beat him Saturday at UFC 128.

“I think some of that goes to people are counting me out,” Wineland said recently on the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show. “They’re not counting on me to win. They’re expecting me to not win this fight, so they don’t have to worry about whether I’ll be a coach.”

Of course, Faber has a championship on his resume and selling power behind his name. Wineland was also a WEC champ, but that was before the promotion’s popularity rose significantly. He’s trying to climb into the spotlight while Faber is trying to stay there.

“I think he’s a step above the people I’ve been fighting,” Wineland said. “… I didn’t ask for Urijah specifically. I asked for a fight that was going to put me into title contention. With my last four fights strung together, I feel like I’m deserving of that.”

Wineland’s four straight wins include back-to-back knockouts, one via a body punch and one via a brutal slam. He’s known as a dangerous striker, but he believes his grappling is underrated as well.

“People underestimate my ground game and what I’m capable of on the mat,” Wineland said. “I think he’s going to have a hard time getting me to the ground anyways. I’m going to fluster him with punches. He’s going to get frustrated and he’s going to start getting desperate and make any kind of attempt he can to get at me.”

Faber has plenty of unorthodox attacks in his arsenal if traditional methods aren’t working. Wineland doesn’t expect anything too flashy from his opponent early, though.

“If you watch his [Takeya] Mizugaki fight, he came in very straightforward,” Wineland said. “He came in throwing straight punches. He didn’t get outside the norm. It was kind of real straightforward boxing. It was a little unorthodox but not his crazy self. I think the reason he stayed that way is because Mizugaki didn’t give him any problems on the feet. Urijah was kind of leading the standup fight. He just waited for Mizugaki to give him an opportunity to get him to the mat.”

Wineland thinks his bout with Faber has a “very good chance” of hitting the mat as well. He brought in some high-caliber wrestlers to his training camp, though he remains confident that striking will be the tool that ultimately spoils any future plans for Faber.

“There’s a possibility of me on the top, me on the bottom,” Wineland said. “If I’m on the top, I’m throwing punches. If I’m on the bottom, I’m getting up.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:16:40).

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