UFC 175 adds Urijah Faber vs. Alex Caceres to star-studded lineup

An already star-studded lineup at UFC 175 just got a little bit stronger.

The UFC’s annual Independence Day weekend card has added a bantamweight bout between former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber (30-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Alex Caceres (10-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC). The two hinted at the possible booking in a Twitter exchange, and the UFC made it happen.

UFC officials announced the new bout on Wednesday night following an initial report from ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

UFC 175 takes place July 5 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The card is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champ Chris Weidman and former light heavyweight champ Lyoto Machida. In the co-main event, women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey defends her title for the third time in a little more than six months when she meets Alexis Davis. And in a highly anticipated grudge match, opposing “TUF: Brazil 3? coaches Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva are set to do battle.

Faber (30-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) is currently ranked No. 2 and Caceres (10-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) is an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings.

Faber is coming off a loss to bantamweight champion Renan Barao at UFC 169 in February. Prior to that, though, he had four wins in 2013, making him a “Fight of the Year” candidate after his previous loss to Barao. “The California Kid” will likely need another string of wins if he’s to get a third shot at Barao, however. He’ll try to start it against Caceres.

Caceres – “Bruce Leeroy” – has won four of his past five, with the lone blemish being a no-contest following a split-decision win over Kyung Ho Kang when he tested positive for marijuana in March 2013. After a split call over Roland Delorme this past September, the “TUF 12? veteran returned in January and submitted the highly touted Sergio Pettis at UFC on FOX 10 in Chicago. The fight with Faber will be his stiffest competition yet.

With the addition, UFC 175 now includes:

• Champ Chris Weidman vs. Lyoto Machida – for middleweight title
• Ronda Rousey vs. Alexis Davis – for women’s bantamweight title
• Wanderlei Silva vs. Chael Sonnen
• Alex Caceres vs. Urijah Faber
• Matt Mitrione vs. Stefan Struve
• Uriah Hall vs. Thiago “Marreta” Santos
• Chris Camozzi vs. Bruno Santos
• Guilherme Vasconcelos vs. Luke Zachrich
• Ildemar Alcantara vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio

For more on UFC 175, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Urijah Faber)