SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber has yet to put his hands on UFC gold, but “The California Kid” believes an impressive win at UFC on FOX 9 could very well provide him another shot at doing exactly that.

Faber (29-6 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets hard-hitting youngster Michael McDonald (16-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in the co-main event of Saturday’s FOX-broadcast event, which takes place at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, Calif. Faber is currently ranked No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie rankings, and McDonald sits just behind him at No. 3.

Faber believes a win should earn him a fight with the victor of February’s Dominick Cruz vs. Renan Barao title unification bout, but he’s not willing to try and fight safe to earn that shot. Instead, Faber believes a firefight is on the horizon.

“He’s a very powerful guy, but he’s gone to a decision before with guys,” Faber told USA TODAY Sports. “There’s guys he hasn’t knocked out. There’s guys that he’s lost to – guys that I’ve fought that he’s lost to. We’re both human beings.

“He can get punched in the face and be hurt. I can be punches in the face and be hurt. We can both be submitted. It hasn’t happened for me, but I’m not a guy that’s going to go out there and make a gameplan like, ‘Oh, I’m going to try and survive,’ or this or that. I’m going to put my will on him. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Check out the video above to hear Faber discuss the experience of fighting in front of a friendly crowd and why he believes a championship fight is in his future.

For more on UFC on FOX 9, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.