Issue 134
November 2015
Urijah Faber’s go-to submission – the guillotine choke – pops up more than once in his pick of his most potent performances.
1. Bitter rival – Dominick Cruz, WEC 26
At the time, this fight probably wasn’t one of my favorites, but things have happened since that have made victory over this opponent in particular stand out,” Faber tells FO. ‘The California Kid’ was making the second defense of his WEC featherweight belt when he ran into Dominick Cruz for the first time in March 2007. Unbeaten, yet relatively unknown, Cruz was forced to submit to a guillotine choke after just 98 seconds.
“Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with Cruz at the time, so I disposed of him quite clinically,” Faber adds. “To get a first-round finish like that, over someone that would later become such a big rival, well, he can never get that back. He may have got the second fight by a close decision, but that first fight and finish still gives me the advantage. Hopefully, a trilogy fight will happen one day, and I’ll be ready for a repeat performance of this first fight.”
2. Long live the king – Jens Pulver I, WEC 34
With the WEC featherweight belt locked down, Faber needed and fresh challenge and he got it in the shape of former UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver. The fight set a ratings record that was never beaten during the promotion’s history as 1.54 million people tuned into the Versus channel to watch. It was also the biggest fight yet in featherweight history and the moment Faber truly became the blue cage’s poster boy.
In his hometown of Sacramento, California, Faber would not be undone as he battled his way to a unanimous five-round points decision. “This was a pretty epic fight. It’s probably most people’s favorite,” says the Team Alpha Male leader. “It was a five-round fight and it was pretty intense. I think it showed people a lot of stuff from me that they hadn’t seen in a fight before.”
3. Back in contention – Brian Bowles, UFC 139
By 2011, the focus was on fighting at 135lb and the hunt for the UFC belt. Standing in his way of a title shot was former WEC kingpin, Brian Bowles. It was a stern test on paper, but one that Faber passed with flying colors in San Jose, picking up ‘Submission of the Night’ honors for his second-round guillotine choke finish.
“The fight against Bowles was 50-50, everyone said. We were both former WEC champions and the winner was being lined up to challenge Dominick Cruz for the UFC belt, so there was a lot riding on this performance,” Faber says.
“I was delighted with the performance. To get the finish in the manner I did was a statement and it secured me a second shot at the UFC belt, albeit the interim title as Cruz was soon to be ruled out injured.”
4. Friendship aside – Scott Jorgensen, The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale
With Cruz out, Faber eventually faced Renan Barao for the interim title, but was found wanting against the rugged Brazilian striker. Undeterred, ‘The California Kid’ strung together a four-fight winning streak that included this April 2013 win over former sparring partner Scott Jorgensen.
Despite a “good friendship” Faber managed to put his feelings aside en route to a late fourth-round rear naked choke submission. “I’d obviously known for a long time how tough Scott was, but I really got to taste it in this fight,” Faber recalled. “He got me with some good punches. It was back and forth. But eventually he made a small mistake and I was able to capitalize on it.”
5. Life left in the old dog – Michael McDonald, UFC on Fox 9
“This was a big fight for me,” Faber says. “McDonald had said in the run up how he was the future and I was the old guy at the tail end of his career. But the old guy proved he’s got a little left in him just yet.”
At the time, high-flying McDonald was viewed as the future of the 135lb division, but in December 2013, Faber showed he was still championship relevant with a second-round guillotine choke that earned him another fight night bonus check.
He adds: “I’ve never undervalued any opponent and I treated him with all the respect he deserved, and he showed the same back. But this was a real crossroads fight for me and so the submission win was a little special. It proved to everybody that I still belonged at the top.”
...
