MMA Oddsbreaker’s Frank Trigg speaks with UFC 169 bantamweight Urijah Faber as he prepares for his main event title bout Saturday night (Feb. 1, 2013) against Renan Barao at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The head honcho at Team Alpha Male has made some big changes in advance of this title opportunity and he’s hoping he’s found the right formula to defeat Barao in the rematch:
“I think the biggest difference for me in this fight is my mentality. I always go out there and perform the best that I can, but having a little bit of an extra edge of excitement and really looking forward to something, I think it helps. I had the four month reality show that I was doing in build up for the July 4th fight. It was a big deal, a big payday for me. A lot of excitement, the biggest card of the year, and that all got swiped away from me at the last minute. I was like the red-headed stepchild in the corner of the room and it was kinda hard to get excited for. I went out there and I performed, I did an okay job, but I didn’t have that extra edge. This year was all about having that extra edge, being excited, understanding how privileged I am to be in this spot where I am today financially, the people I’m surrounded by, the team, just having this attitude of gratitude that I’ve talked about before. I’m taking that into this fight, my new coach and this big winning streak behind me. I’m just excited.”