In a recent interview with Bleacher Report's Bryan Levick, Lightweight champion Jamie Varner had some choice words for his employers, questioning the seemingly constant push received by Urijah Faber:

"It should be called The Urijah Faber show instead of World Extreme Cagefighting. They keep giving Faber all of the big promotional deals, in fact they just hooked him up with Amp Energy Drink. Amp just became the official energy drink of the WEC. I called the WEC regarding Amp about two months ago because a buddy of mine who works with Pepsi told me about it. I asked the WEC to get me on board with them and they said they would see what they could do. Lo and behold Faber got the deal."

Regardless of your personal opinions of Jamie Varner, his comments have merit, though they only present one side of the story.

Yes, as a champion in the WEC and one of a number of talented, recognition-worthy competitors under their banner, it certainly has to be hard to constantly see Faber as the poster boy for the company, including as the star of the trailer for this upcoming event.

In a very liberal sense, it is similar to the Kimbo Slice dichotomy.

Kimbo, like Faber, is a massive draw and highly-marketable fighter. "The California Kid" has regularly pulled over a million viewers to Versus, while no one else has eclipsed the 700,000 mark.

But in terms of performance and abilities, Kimbo is nowhere near as skilled or accomplished as countless fighters earning far less and achieving far more.

While Faber is a former champ and a much-higher caliber fighter than Kimbo, those who advocate a fighter getting by on their merits more than their marketability could come calling if Faber were to lose on Sunday.

There is no question that the pride of Sacramento is the most well-known fighter on the WEC roster, and as charismatic and marketable a figure as the sport has to offer. But heading into Sunday's fight with Raphael Assuncao, Faber has fought four times over the last two years, splitting those bouts down the middle.

The losses came to Mike Brown, while the wins came over Jens Pulver.

Yes, both of them.

As much as some Faber fans want to play the "What If Game" with Faber's two defeats to Brown, the former Featherweight champ twice-removed has yet to get by the once-removed champion, and there are no indications that he ever would.

That brings us to his victories from the last 730 days, give or take.

Fair or not, the general consensus on Jens Pulver at this stage of his career is that he is passed his best before date. Many believe that his first fight with Faber - a fight which Faber won by unanimous decision - was the last great fight of "Little Evil's" impressive career.

It's hard to argue the opposite, as that bout was the beginning of the current four-fight losing streak that sent Pulver back to Iowa to re-evaluate his fighting future.

As a fan, I'm glad he's making a return in March. As an objective journalist, I don't know how much he's got left in the tank, though I hope he proves me and everyone else wrong.

Getting back on topic, will pushing Faber as "The Face of the Franchise" continue to make sense should he suffer another defeat on Sunday night?

His two wins would have come over...