Issue 184

November 2019

“The California Kid” is back on the scene and after a triumphant return to the Octagon earlier this year, Urijah Faber has his eyes once again on UFC gold.

UFC Hall of Fame inductee Urijah Faber is back in the thick of the action and has put the rest of the UFC bantamweight on notice following a win earlier this summer at UFC Sacramento. Faber had originally retired in July 2017 following a win over Brad Pickett at UFC on Fox 22, but following two years on the sidelines, he returned to the Octagon this summer to face Ricky Simon.

The Sacramento native received a rousing reception from his hometown crowd and he paid them back in spades with a sensational performance. It took Faber just 46 seconds to dispatch Simon after a devastating right hand dropped him to the mat and he finished him with ground strikes.

The win brought Simon’s eight-fight win streak to an abrupt end as Faber became the first-ever fighter to win inside the Octagon after being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. 

Faber rode off into the sunset that evening with a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus check in his back pocket and with the rest of the UFC 135-pounds division aware that he was back and just as motivated as before.

Of course, returns from retirement aren’t unusual in MMA. Down the years there’s been no shortage of fighters coming out of retirement to grace the cage again, but more often than not they don’t end as well as Faber’s return did in July.

Speaking to Fighters Only just a few weeks after his victory over Simon, Faber explained why he had confidence heading back into the Octagon and where he sees his career going now after picking up the 35th win of his career.  

“I knew that I hadn’t skipped a beat because I’ve never left the gym,” Faber explained. “Ever since I’ve been retired, I’ve been working on a lot of other projects, but the bulk of my day was always spent inside the gym. My favorite way to work out is still all MMA-related. Of course, I’m still mentoring all the guys and being a part of their camps as well. I still knew where I stood [in the rankings]. I didn’t retire because I had to. I retired because I felt like it. It was great to go in there and show everyone what I knew already. I’m still one of the top fighters in the world.”

In the two years he spent on the sidelines there was no shortage of changes both in MMA and Faber’s personal life. Outside of the drama of the TJ Dillashaw and Team Alpha Male feud, the biggest change in Faber’s life came earlier this year in March when he became a father for the first time.

With the likes of Donald Cerrone recently speaking out about the new motivation that fatherhood brings to his fighting career, Faber explained why he too was feeling differently following the birth of his daughter, Cali.

“There were a lot of things that were different heading into that fight,” Faber said. “I’ve never had a problem getting motivated for things but having a baby takes things to a whole new level. That’s just been such an amazing experience.

“I always like to have my motivation be positive things and there’s nothing more positive than bringing another life into the world,” he continued. “I think it’s good to have positive things going on in your life. For me anyway, that’s when I fight my best. When you have a bigger purpose I think you fight harder. The stakes feel bigger when you have a baby to fight for. It doesn’t mean you’re going to be superman, but it does put things in perspective for sure.”

Faber’s involvement at Team Alpha Male meant he was never too far away from the sport and he admitted he’s been amazed to see how MMA has developed over the past few years. Having started his professional career over 16 years ago in 2003, Faber has seen the sport mature and he believes fighters now have amazing opportunities both inside and outside of the UFC.

“The landscape of the sport has changed a lot since I first came onto the scene,” Faber said. “The progress of the sport has been crazy. Things like the ESPN deal, the growth of ONE Championship, Bellator, PFL, UFC Fight Pass; it’s just grown so much. There are so many more opportunities beyond just coming and fighting every tough guy in the world. I’ve already done that. I’ve fought in title fights and shown that I’m one of the top bantamweights in the world for a long time.

“Now I just want fights that make sense to me,” he continued. “I had to get back in and do one that didn’t make much sense to just remind everyone that I haven’t left. Right now I’m gunning for that title. That’s why we do this sport.”

Whilst excited to see the other promotions grow, Faber knows where his home is. Having fought under the Zuffa banner since 2006, Faber feels like he wouldn’t fight anywhere other than in the UFC Octagon. His next contract, however, is still something that needs to be negotiated.

“The UFC is where I want to be,” Faber said. “In my opinion, the UFC is the pinnacle of the sport. It’s great to see the other organizations growing and fighters getting great opportunities all over the world, but at the end of the day, I’ve been part of the Zuffa family for a good portion of my career. Of course, I’d love to get paid more and that’s part of the next discussion, but I really like the way they have treated me down the years. You never rule anything out, but if I had my perfect plan then I’d just continued being in the UFC and fight out my career there.”

In the time that Faber took away from the Octagon, Henry Cejudo won both the UFC flyweight and bantamweight titles. 

The self-proclaimed “King of Cringe” has yet to back to down from any challengers thus far at either 125 or 135-pounds and even took out Faber’s former teammate TJ Dillashaw on the way to the UFC title.

When asked what he makes of the current double-weight champion, Faber couldn’t help but laugh at Cejudo’s social media antics, but when it came to talking about his fighting he had nothing but admiration for the former Olympic champion.

“Who he in the media is pretty close to, who he truly is; it’s just a more amplified version of himself,” Faber said with a laugh. “The whole cringe thing is truly him. He’s seriously a guy that is a little cringe, but in a good way. He doesn’t know how goofy he is. He can take an insult and then he can give it back. He’s not afraid to put himself out there and I respect that.

“He’s absolutely the gold standard right now,” he continued. “You just have to take a look at the guys he beat. All his wins are super impressive and it all just comes down to match-ups. He’s lost and we’ve seen he’s not superhuman, but he’s got a champion’s mindset. Becoming an Olympic champion at a young age and then becoming a two-time UFC champion is incredible. He’s beaten really good guys.

“Marlon [Moraes] was beating him in the first round but he came back to win that fight. He knocked TJ [Dillashaw] out. He beat Demetrious [Johnson] who is considered one of the greatest of all time. He’s there at the top, but I think I match up really well against him.”

Whilst Faber admires what Cejudo has been able to accomplish in the past year, he’s not a man he fears. The Team Alpha Male owner believes that he has “Triple C”s number and that if they were to fight he would be able to nullify his strengths and defeat him.

“He’s a grappler first and he’s taken great strides with his striking,” Faber said. “He breaks people, but that wouldn’t happen to me. His wrestling is his greatest attribute, but my jiu-jitsu is much better than his. My wrestling isn’t Olympic gold medal standard, but I’ve trained with Olympic wrestlers and held my own. I’m bigger than he is. That’s rare for me, but I’m taller than him and I’ve probably got a few pounds on him.”

Whether Cejudo is Faber’s next opponent remains to be seen. One thing perfectly clear is that the Sacramento native only has eyes on UFC gold and that he’s prepared to wait on the sidelines until he gets the right opportunity. Taking a fight for the sake of it at the age of 40 is not something that Faber is prepared to do.

“No, I’ve not talked to the UFC too much,” Faber said about his next fight. “I know they [UFC] want me to fight in December, but I don’t know. I’m not going to fight just because. It has to make sense to me and I know Henry is going to be out for a while yet. I think they want him to fight Joseph Benavidez next which is great. He’s a good friend of mine. If I don’t fight I’m not that bothered. I don’t need to fight. I’ve got a lot of things going on.”

Faber isn’t lying when he says he’s got a lot going on. Retirement for Faber didn’t involve putting his feet up and if anything it saw him diversify into other areas. One venture, in particular, has kept Faber on his toes and fans could be about to see his debut as a feature-length film producer. The film is just one of many projects Faber currently has going on outside of fighting.

“I’m doing some stuff in the entertainment world and I’ve got my own production company,” Faber said. “We just did our first feature film called Green Fever which I produced with Rick Lee. I’m also doing another series with Rick where I go and do interviews with other champions in different professions. I’ve got real estate stuff I’m working on, the gym, loads of promotions and live events. I’m just doing a lot of stuff and I’m busy with lots of small projects. There’s a lot going on and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I’m just grinding.”

Another man who recently announced his return from retirement is Conor McGregor. After Faber and McGregor both coached on series 22 of The Ultimate Fighter, their names have constantly been linked with one another. Their relationship has often taken twists and turns between friend and foe, but of late their careers have taken very different trajectories and it has given Faber a whole new perspective on the Irishman.

Like everybody else in the MMA community, Faber just wants to see McGregor back doing what he does best – fighting in the UFC Octagon.

“He’s got so much,” Faber said. “He needs to channel back to the reason why he wanted to fight in the first place. At one point in time he wanted to show everybody he was the baddest man on the planet and he went out and proved it. At this point, his skin his thick, his bank account is fat and I think he’s just got to let the ego take over his training program. His ego needs to drive him to be the best again. He’s got a great ego.” 

Another man Faber’s name is never far away from is TJ Dillashaw. As the founder of Team Alpha Male, Faber found himself right in the middle of the Dillashaw vs Garbrandt feud and it was a long and drawn-out rivalry that ultimately ended with Dillashaw defeating Garbrandt on two occasions.

Faber’s name was constantly being linked to fighting Dillashaw despite his retirement. Now he’s officially back on the scene, Faber says it’s a match-up he would love and that the fight is closer than ever to happening. 

“I think a fight with TJ is the one everyone wants to see,” Faber said. “That’s about as interesting as it gets. There was a time when I didn’t want to dip my toe in the drama of all that, but now I feel like I don’t even know the guy.

“One thing I want him to do is give us all a confession about all the stuff he’s done,” Faber said laughing. “That isn’t ever going to happen though; like the one Armstrong did with Oprah. Dana [White] would have so much fun putting that fight together. That’s the one out there that has the most interest. Who knows, maybe I’ll be the champion by the time he comes back?”

After a winning homecoming and exciting fights with Cejudo and Dillashaw on the horizon, Faber’s return has all the makings for a rare MMA retirement success story.