Urijah Faber issues statement following triumphant UFC return

Urijah Faber has released a statement on his social media in the wake of his first-round TKO win over Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento.

The UFC Hall of Famer needed just 46 seconds to pick up a massive upset win in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 155. Faber knocked down the highly-favored Simon with an overhand right hand finished him off with devastating ground and pound for his first win since a December 2016 decision over Brad Pickett.

Here’s what ‘The California Kid’ said about his victory:

“Aftermath! What a night. Thank you everyone for the love and support. Super proud of my team, wins and losses.” – Urijah Faber (via Instagram)

The win moved Faber’s overall career record to 6-2 while fighting in his native Sacramento. He’s a perfect 3-0 while fighting in Sacramento during his UFC run alone.

It was a tremendous victory for Faber, who took the mic afterwards and called out UFC bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo. The champ recently called Faber out after defeating Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 to win the belt, and clearly Faber is interested in this matchup as well. It remains to be seen if UFC president Dana White wants the fight, but there seems to be significant fan interesest in the bout now that Faber has defeated Simon.

It is rare for a fighter to come out of retirement after over two years at age 40 and return to beat a much younger opponent, like Faber did against the 26-year old Simon. While the betting odds were very much against Faber’s chances in this one, clearly he has plenty of gas left in the tank. He proved all the doubters wrong with the victory.

Now, he waits and sees what the UFC will do with Cejudo next. But there’s no doubt Faber has put himself in prime position to challenge for a belt in the near future.

Should Urijah Faber be the next opponent for Henry Cejudo?