Urijah Faber defends legacy ahead of retirement

This Saturday, MMA veteran Urijah Faber will step into the Octagon for the final time as he squares off against Brad Pickett in what Faber has stated will be his retirement fight.

Over the course of his 13-year MMA career ‘The California Kid’ shared the cage with some of the biggest names in MMA including Jose Aldo, Dominick Cruz, and Frankie Edgar to name just a a few. While he was never able to capture UFC gold, Faber held the WEC championship for two years, successfully defending the belt five times over the course of his reign.

Going into his final fight, Faber holds a professional record of 33-10, and will be looking to snap a 2-fight skid before walking away from the Octagon.

In an interview with MMAFighting, Faber defended his legacy, explaining that while he never captured UFC gold, the WEC belt was the world championship before the UFC was:

“The truth is, it depends on how educated you are on the sport,” Faber said. “At the time [the WEC] was owned by the UFC, by Zuffa, it was the only organization that was promoting at the time. The guys that know, know.“

“We had Jose Aldo, and Jens Pulver, and Mighty Mouse, and Dominick Cruz, and everyone under the sun,” Faber said. “[Anthony] Pettis, these guys were all champions in the WEC and the UFC. There is no doubt I was the world champion when that was the world championship belt.”

The WEC, which was also owned by Zuffa, gave rise to some of the biggest names in the sport, including Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, and Urijah Faber to name just a few. In 2010, UFC President Dana White announced that the UFC and the WEC had merged, and that many of the WEC fighters would be joining the UFC roster.