Eddie Wineland is in for the biggest fight of his career when he makes his Octagon debut against fellow former WEC champion Urijah Faber on Saturday night at UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones in Newark, N.J.
A win against Faber has many ramifications. Wineland would immediately be back in title contention, and could be considered among the options to coach Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, which will feature bantamweight and/or featherweight fighters.
Wineland went old school to prepare for Faber, digging into his vale tudo roots.
He spoke one-on-one with MMAWeekly.com on Thursday, talking about his training, the pressure that accompanies this fight, and his race back to the title.