Wagnney Fabiano Likely For WEC 43

As one of the top featherweights in the world, Wagnney Fabiano (12-1 MMA, #3 IWMMAR) hasn’t been in quite as many discussions of “what’s next for Mike Brown (22-4 MMA, #1 IWMMAR)” as I expected, following Browns win over Urijah Faber (22-3, #2 IWMMAR). As great as Faber’s performance was, broken hand and all, the prospect of a Brown vs. Faber III in the near future seems unlikely. The two men fought each other twice in less than eight months, and it will take a while (and solid winning streaks for both, I think) to make it a fight that really sparks popular interest, though because of the massive fan support for Faber, I’m sure it will.

When that’s all said and done, though, it seems that Fabiano might make himself a clear contender for the WEC title, especially if the Zuffa management chooses to make him a focal point of the WEC 43 event (perhaps taking a main event fight). That said, though, it’s not as though Fabiano’s without competition, and perhaps it’s the nature of that competition that makes it the most awkward.

After all, the most interesting opponent for Fabiano would be the man trailing him (or, perhaps even leading him) in the running to take on Brown for that WEC strap: Jose Aldo (15-1 MMA, #4 IWMMAR). If it’s not immediately clear why that’s awkward, the two fighters are teammates at Nova Uniao.

The other pickings in the division are slim. Leonard Garcia (12-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC, #6 IWMMAR) would make for a great potential opponent, but since Garcia is slated to fight at WEC 42, that’s not going to happen. Chances are good that Fabiano will end up fighting a low profile opponent in an attempt to build hype for a potential title fight, but there’s a legitimate question to be raised as to whether Fabiano will get the title shot, or whether it will go to Aldo.

The advantages of having Aldo as the champion are numerous, and the chances that either he or Fabiano would beat Brown are good. The problem is that once one of them is established as a champion, the chances of a title fight with the other are not good. Fabiano makes a good immediate contender because, while he’s legitimate and perhaps more qualified than Aldo (though he has fewer wins, his status as a former IFL champion is a plus in establishing credibility). The problem with Aldo winning is that, at 22, Aldo might never lose, and then Fabiano is stuck in perpetual gatekeeper-dom until someone either leaves Nova Uniao or the two agree to fight each other on civil terms (which is not an altogether bad idea).

Aldo is a monster and, frankly, there’s an argument to be made that Aldo is the most dangerous featherweight in the world. The knockout he posted over Cub Swanson (13-3 MMA) was a freak finish, and the kind of thing that, in all of my years as a fan, I had never expected to see outside of a well choreographed kung fu (or, in the modern world, MMA) film. Though I’ve never seen a well choreographed MMA film, so I’m not entirely sure what I’d expect from it.

At the end of the day, though, with Fabiano set to headline an event, the possibility of him fighting for a title, should he win, seems pretty good, especially when you consider that Aldo can always be patient and wait. The kid’s got a long career ahead of him, and having a teammate as a champion puts him in a position to take a shot at the title in four or five years after solid dominance and name-building. Either one will be a great contender and potential champ, and both are phenomenal fighters to watch.