Barao? Faber? Cruz? Dillashaw? Eddie Wineland wants 'all the top guys'

After a knockout win over unranked Yves Jabouin at UFC on FOX 10, bantamweight contender Eddie Wineland wants a busy year in which he only fights the division’s best.

“I want to fight four times this year at minimum,” Wineland told MMAjunkie. “I’m kind of sitting in the Donald Cerrone boat – give me as many fights as you can. That being said, there’s only a couple fights that make sense for me. I don’t want to take just any meaningless fight. Any fight that I take from here should have a little bit of meaning and push me forward toward that belt.”

Wineland (21-9-1 MMA, 3-3 UFC) bounced back from a failed bid to capture the interim title in September with a second-round stoppage of Jabouin (19-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC) due to strikes. Many would call the win an impressive showing from Wineland. But after a week of reflection, it’s one he isn’t entirely satisfied with.

“I wasn’t on my ‘A’ game,” Wineland said. “Everybody has those days. I did have a good fight, I was pleased with my performance, but even in a perfect fight you see places where you can improve. It’s just going back to the gym, keep working and keep improving.”

One aspect of his performance Wineland was happy with is the sequence in which the fight ended. As someone who typically looks to land a knockout blow on the feet, Wineland mixed things up and pounded Jabouin out on the mat with an onslaught of hefty ground-and-pound.

While Wineland admits he still prefers to stay standing as much as possible, he thinks the nature of his victory over Jabouin was another step in his growth toward becoming the most complete fighter possible.

“I’ll take a finish wherever, but in fights where I have people down I usually let them stand back up to get the knockout,” Wineland said. “I’m confident in my ground game, I’m confident in my grappling and I’m confident in my ground-and-pound. I think I showed I have heavy hips on top, I possess power when I’m on top and I can finish people when I’m on top.”

Currently ranked No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA bantamweight rankings, there’s not a whole lot of landscape separating Wineland from the top spot in his weight class.

Wineland thinks there are a number of matchups that make sense for his next fight. Most prominently, he’s interested in a meeting with T.J. Dillashaw (9-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who defeated Mike Easton at UFC Fight Night 35 the week prior to Wineland’s victory.

“I would love the Dillashaw fight,” Wineland said. “[I want] anybody that really makes sense, somebody with a number attached to them.”

The top two fighters in the division, champion Renan Barao (31-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Urijah Faber (30-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC), meet Saturday at UFC 169 for the bantamweight title. Even though Wineland already has losses to both men on his record, he has a vested interest in the fight because it will determine future matchmaking at 135 pounds.

“I know with Faber and Barao fighting this weekend, if Faber wins I don’t know what Dillashaw’s plans are, if he tries to push for the belt and fight Faber or what,” Wineland said. “This weekend will be really telling of what I should push for. I would also like another shot at that belt.”

Between his stints in the now-defunct WEC and the UFC, Wineland has been a mainstay of the bantamweight division for several years. But one man he has never crossed paths with is former titleholder Dominick Cruz (19-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC).

With “The Dominator” aiming for a return to the octagon from injury later this year, Wineland believes he would provide the perfect foe for Cruz’s comeback fight.

“Absolutely, I would love to fight Cruz,” Wineland said. “Anybody who makes sense as far as pushing me toward that belt. I’ll fight anybody, that’s no secret. It’s never been a secret that I want one, two and three. I belong there, I feel like I belong there, so give me a fight that I deserve.”

Even though he is only 29 years old, Wineland’s professional career is nearing its 11th anniversary and he can already feel his clock ticking.

He doesn’t have a retirement date etched in stone, but he does know that for whatever years he has remaining in the sport, he wants to spend them taking on the best.

“I’m getting old in the sport, I think I’ve probably got another two to four or five more years,” Wineland said. “I really don’t want to take those fights that are against guys coming in, I want all the top guys.”

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