Urijah Faber drops ideal date for UFC return

Former WEC featherweight champion and long-time UFC bantamweight contender Urijah Faber is currently retired, but it doesn’t sound like his retirement will last much longer.

Speaking on his official Instagram page, the former champ and new father divulged that he’d like to fight at the upcoming UFC Sacramento card, which is scheduled for July 13 in the California city. He added that he’d be willing to fight at featherweight or bantamweight.

“I know my baby is keeping me young…but a good ole fist fight could help the cause…#ufcsacramento on the Horizon @ufc 145 or 135 & who would be fun?” – Urijah Faber on Instagram.

This is not the first time Faber has hinted at an imminent return to the cage. The fighter, who is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, made similar comments on a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, naming his former protege TJ Dillashaw as a potential opponent. Unfortunately for him, Dillashaw was recently suspended for two years after testing positive for the injectable-only performance enhancing drug recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO). So that matchup is unfortunately off the table for now.

Urijah Faber retired in late 2016 after a decision victory over fellow veteran Brad Pickett. This win was preceded by a pair of decision losses to Jimmie Rivera and Dominick Cruz. Highlights of his incredible career include victories over Bibiano Fernandes, Dominick Cruz, Jens Pulver (twice), Raphael Assuncao, Takeya Mizugaki, Brian Bowles, Eddie Wineland, Ivan Menjivar, Scott Jorgensen, Iuri Alcântara, Michael MacDonald, Alex Caceres, Francisco Rivera, Frankie Saenz, Pickett, and many others. Should he return to the UFC as he plans, he’ll do so with a 34-10-0 overall record.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/15/2019.