Urijah Faber News
MMA fans question Urijah Faber's comeback
Harry Kettle - February 18, 2025
Mixed martial arts fans have questioned the prospect of Urijah Faber making his return to the sport with GFL. Throughout the course of his iconic career, Urijah Faber has done some wonderful things in mixed martial arts. From competing to coaching, he’s a fairly iconic figure – especially in the smaller weight classes. In the eyes of many, he’s one of the greatest fighters to have never captured UFC gold.
GFL books Urijah Faber vs Renan Barao trilogy bout
Cole Shelton - February 17, 2025
Urijah Faber and Renan Barao will be fighting for the third time. Faber and Barao were both signed by the GFL to continue their career and they have been booked to fight. MMAMania’s Alex Behunin broke the news that Faber and Barao will have their trilogy bout later this year. The exact date and location for the fight is expected to be announced next week, Behunin reported.
UFC quietly releases MMA legend Urijah Faber
Harry Kettle - January 9, 2025
The Ultimate Fighting Championship has released mixed martial arts legend Urijah Faber, who many didn’t realize was still on the roster. When it comes to legendary fighters who turned to coaching in mixed martial arts, Urijah Faber is right up there with the best of them. He has achieved some wonderful things in his career, and that goes for both in and outside of the cage. Regardless of whether you liked him or hated him during his prime, there’s no denying what he’s been able to accomplish.
Urijah Faber done with MMA, but interested in potential BKFC fight or boxing match: "I love competing"
Josh Evanoff - August 12, 2024
Former UFC title challenger Urijah Faber is done with MMA, but he’s not done with competing. The 45-year-old is going on almost five years out of the octagon. Urijah Faber famously retired following a decision victory over Brad Pickett in 2016, but he returned to the cage three years later. In his brief comeback, the bantamweight handed Ricky Simon a knockout loss, before being stopped by Petr Yan that December.
Urijah Faber believes Merab Dvalishvili is a “bad matchup” for Sean O’Malley: “That dude is durable”
Susan Cox - May 10, 2024
Urijah Faber believes that Merab Dvalishvili is a ‘bad matchup’ for Sean O’Malley. The current UFC bantamweight champion O’Malley (18-1 MMA) last fought and defeated Marlon Vera (23-9 MMA) this past March at UFC 299 in his first title defence.
Urijah Faber faces Jeff Curran in rematch under combat jiu-jitsu rules at A1 Combat 21
Fernando Quiles Jr. - March 31, 2024
The rematch between between Urijah Faber and Jeff Curran has been made official. A1 Combat has announced that “The California Kid” will face Curran on May 25th in the main event of A1 Combat 21. This will be held under combat jiu-jitsu rules, which allows for open palm strikes. Faber and Curran had a WEC championship fight all the way back in late 2007. Faber successfully defended the WEC Featherweight Championship via second-round submission. The bout earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
MMA legend Urijah Faber returns to headline A1 Combat 21
Susan Cox - March 6, 2024
MMA legend Urijah Faber is returning to headline A1 Combat 21. Faber (35-11 MMA) retired from MMA in 2016 after defeating Brad Pickett (25-14 MMA) by unanimous decision. Making a comeback in 2019, ‘The California Kid’ fought and defeated Ricky Simon (20-5 MMA) by TKO. That same year, Faber got in the cage with Petr Yan (16-5 MMA) at UFC 245 but lost by a third round TKO.
Urijah Faber gives his side of the story as to why Sage Northcutt didn't fight at ONE 165: "There’s a lot of miscommunication"
Cole Shelton - February 2, 2024
Urijah Faber has opened up on why Sage Northcutt didn’t fight at ONE 165 last weekend. Northcutt was booked to face MMA legend Shinya Aoki on the card in a highly-anticipated matchup. However, the night before the fight, two of Northcutt’s cornermen couldn’t get visas and weren’t allowed to be in his corner, so he opted not to fight without his core team being with him.
Urijah Faber reveals how close he was to fighting Conor McGregor at UFC 196: "Dana told me I was the guy"
Josh Evanoff - August 4, 2022
UFC bantamweight Urijah Faber nearly fought Conor McGregor at UFC 196. At that event in March 2016, it was supposed to ‘The Notorious’ moving up to lightweight. The then UFC featherweight champion was expected to face Rafael dos Anjos, the-then lightweight titleholder. However, weeks before the fight, the Brazilian got injured.
Urijah Faber says Josh Emmett was livid after being “ghosted” at UFC 276: “Last night he was like, ‘You know what, F this. I wish they’d just release me. I get no respect'”
Harry Kettle - July 4, 2022
Urijah Faber has revealed that Josh Emmett wasn’t happy following an incident during International Fight Week. For many years now Josh Emmett has been representing Team Alpha Male at the elite level, and he’s been doing so pretty effectively. The veteran is currently riding a five-fight win streak and after edging past Calvin Kattar via split decision last month, many felt as if he’d earned the right to challenge for the UFC featherweight championship.
Urijah Faber explains why TJ Dillashaw vs. Aljamain Sterling is the fight to make
Harry Kettle - May 2, 2022
Urijah Faber has explained why TJ Dillashaw vs Aljamain Sterling is the fight that needs to be made at bantamweight. Following on from Aljamain Sterling’s win over Petr Yan at UFC 273, fans have been wondering who the champion will defend the belt against next. The division is as stacked as it’s ever been but in terms of top contenders, the two in the running right now are TJ Dillashaw and Jose Aldo.
Urijah Faber shares his thoughts on the upcoming Petr Yan vs. Aljamain Sterling rematch at UFC 273: “Yan’s definitely the favorite in my opinion”
Susan Cox - February 22, 2022
Urijah Faber weighed in on who he thinks will win in the upcoming Yan vs Sterling rematch at UFC 273. Petr Yan (16-2 MMA) will meet up with Aljamain Sterling (20-3 MMA) on Saturday, April 9th at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
Urijah Faber responds to Cub Swanson's callout: 'We might find out who the king of California is'
Cole Shelton - January 6, 2022
Urijah Faber has some interest in fighting Cub Swanson. After Swanson beat Darren Elkins back in December, he hinted at a possible matchup with Faber and a drop to bantamweight. Swanson said Urijah is his dream fight and he wants the two to fight in California to find out who the real ‘King of Cali’ is.
Urijah Faber says Colby Covington is "actually not a bad guy, he's trying to get himself noticed"
Adam D Martin - November 16, 2021
UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber says that welterweight Colby Covington is “actually not a bad guy, he’s trying to get himself noticed.” Covington recently lost a unanimous decision to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the main event of UFC 268. It was a great fight by both men, but ultimately Usman got the job done. Speaking to Helen Yee in a recent interview, Faber shared his thoughts on the fight. He said that he enjoyed watching it and then he defended Covington’s personality, suggesting that he is just plating a character inside the Octagon.
Urijah Faber plans to sit down with the UFC to talk about a potential return, interested in Marlon Vera fight
Cole Shelton - August 5, 2021
Urijah Faber isn’t ruling out a return to the Octagon. Faber, the former WEC featherweight champion, is now 42-years-old and has not fought since he suffered a TKO loss to Petr Yan at UFC 245. However, the UFC Hall of Famer has always hinted at a return to the sport, and he says he plans on sitting down with the UFC to discuss that. He also knows if he were to return, it would not be for several months as he would need to get back into fight shape.
Urijah Faber comments on TJ Dillashaw using EPO: "Everybody knows what he was doing"
Adam D Martin - July 27, 2021
UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber commented on his former pupil TJ Dillashaw using EPO, saying that “everybody knows what he was doing.” Dillashaw defeated Cory Sandhagen via split decision in the main event of this past Saturday’s UFC Vegas 32 event. It was the first fight for Dillashaw in 30 months since being suspended in January 2019 after testing positive for EPO. The suspension was for two years and he also was forced to vacate his 135lbs belt, so Dillashaw paid a hefty price for cheating before the Henry Cejudo fight. But if you ask Faber, his former coach at Team Alpha Male, Dillashaw had been using EPO for a lot longer than when he had been caught.
Jimmie Rivera explains why he wants to "beat the sh*t" out of Urijah Faber
Adam Martin - February 8, 2021
UFC bantamweight contender Jimmie Rivera explained why he wants to “beat the sh*t” out of his former opponent and rival Urijah Faber. Rivera and Faber first met back at UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem in September 2016. In a fight that marked his first true coming-out party in the UFC, Rivera won a unanimous decision over the legend Faber that night. However, he suffered a nasty eye poke during the fight and was also the victim of a low blow. Although that fight was five years ago, Rivera still holds a grudge, and of course, there is only one way to settle the score: a rematch between the two veterans.
Photo | Urijah Faber looking shredded at age 41
Adam Martin - January 12, 2021
UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is looking absolutely shredded at age 41 ahead of a potential return to the Octagon in 2021. Faber is the former WEC featherweight champion and he was a long-time star for the UFC during the 2010s. The California native first retired in 2016 following a decision win over Brad Pickett, but he returned to the Octagon in 2019 to make a comeback. In his return fight, Faber scored an incredible KO win over Ricky Simon in his native Sacramento. He was then booked against rising star Petr Yan but he got knocked out at UFC 245. Faber has not fought since then, and that fight was in December 2019.