July to be raucous in Northern California

The month of June was relatively quiet on the mixed martial arts scene in Northern California, but with July right around the corner things are set to pick up.

There are two title fights involving Nor Cal fighters, both of whom are in our Nor Cal P4P top-10, and others with future title implications. Let’s take a look at five of the most-anticipated Nor Cal fights.

Urijah Faber (26-5) vs. Renan Barao (28-1) (UFC 149 on July 21): Sacramento’s Faber was originally scheduled to challenge Dominick Cruz for his title at UFC 148, but when Cruz tore his ACL during training Barao was called in as a replacement and the fight became an interim title bout. Another injury changed the venue of this fight. When UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo suffered a shoulder injury, he pulled out of his match at 149 against Erik Koch. Instead of replacing Aldo and having another interim title fight, which would mean three interim champions, the UFC moved Faber-Barao to 149 in Calgary.

What was slated to be the third chapter in the Faber-Cruz rivalry and co-main event UFC 148 has turned into the first-ever meeting between Faber and Barao, which will headline UFC 149 and be for the interim bantamweight championship.

Luke Rockhold (9-1) vs. Tim Kennedy (14-3) (Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on July 14): AKA and Santa Cruz product Luke Rockhold makes his second defense of the Strikeforce middleweight title. This time his opponent will be much better than the aging Keith Jardine. The man Rockhold was supposed to face back January, Tim Kennedy, will be his opponent this time around. Kennedy was the odds on favorite to face Rockhold back in January, but a thumb injury sidelined him before that bout was announced.

This time around, both fighters are healthy and ready to do battle. There has been more anticipation surrounding this fight then Rockhold’s previous title defense, which he won via TKO in the first-round. Kennedy will pose a much bigger challenge than Jardine who was fighting at middleweight for the first time.

Mark Munoz (12-2) vs. Chris Weidman (8-0) (UFC on FUEL 4 on July 11): Not only will Vallejo’s Munoz be in action, but this card will take place in San Jose at the HP Pavilion. This battle of well-round middleweights could go a long way in determining who’s on the fast track to a title shot and who still has a ladder to climb.

Both are well-known for their wrestling ability and were NCAA All-Americans, Munoz at Oklahoma State and Weidman at Hofstra. The bout was officially announced on May 19 at Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Cormier in San Jose, where the bout will take place. During the short presser, each fighter relented that although both are known for their wrestling that the bout could be decided with strikes. Both are top-5 middleweights and could be on their way to a title shot with a decisive victory.

Chad Mendes (11-1) vs. Cody McKenzie (13-2) (UFC 148 on July 7): Mendes, who fights out of Team Alpha Male along with Urijah Faber, is looking to bounce back from his lone career loss to UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. He will do so against a newcomer to the featherweight division, Cody McKenzie. McKenzie is coming off a submission victory over Marcus LeVessur and is looking to become a mainstay at 145 pounds. On the other side, Mendes is trying to show that his flash-TKO loss to Aldo was a fluke and that he should stay in title contention.

Cung Le (7-2) vs. Patrick Cote (17-7) (UFC 148 on July 7): Le was originally slated to face Rich Franklin at 148, but an injury to UFC 147 headliner Vitor Belfort forced the UFC to move Franklin out of this fight to face Wanderlei Silva in Brazil. Le’s new opponent is Cote, who will be making his return to the UFC after almost two years. Le is back in the octagon after a second round TKO loss to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 139 in November. While Cote is out to prove he deserves to stay in the UFC, many have wondered how focused Le will be. Many wondered if his movie career was a distraction in his UFC debut, but this time around he seems to be more focused on winning his fight and proving he is a fighter first and foremost.

There are many more fights in the month of July that include Nor Cal fighters, which should lead to an exciting month and an interesting top-10 for next month. 

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