| Urijah Faber | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Nickname | "The California Kid" |
| Born | May 14, 1979 Isla Vista, California |
| Nationality |  American
|
| Listed height | 5 ft 6 in |
| Listed weight | 135 lbs |
| Career information | |
| Division | Featherweight Bantamweight |
| Reach | 69 in |
| Fighting out of | Sacramento California
|
| Team | Team Alpha Male |
| Years active | 2003–2016 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 34 |
| Losses | 10 |
Urijah Christopher Faber (born May 14, 1979 in Isla Vista, California) is an American retired mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting as a featherweight in the World Extreme Cagefighting organization. Faber won the WEC featherweight championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006 and held the title for over two years until his loss to Mike Brown at WEC 36 on November 5, 2008. Currently Faber is ranked the #3 featherweight in the world by Sherdog.[1]
Mixed martial arts[]
Faber made his professional MMA debut as part of the Gladiator Challenge promotion on November 12, 2003, defeating Jay Valencia by guillotine choke at 1:22 of round 1. Faber then defeated George Adkins by TKO(strikes) on February 12, 2004, earning a shot at GC Bantamweight champion David Velasquez. On June 6, 2004, Faber defeated Velasquez by unanimous decision, becoming the new GC Bantamweight champion. In his first title defense, Faber defeated Del Hawkins by TKO(strikes) at 3:19 of the first round on August 19, 2004. After this fight, Faber began to take fights in both GC and King of the Cage, GC's parent promotion.
Upon moving to KOTC, Faber defeated Rami Boukai by majority decision on September 24, 2004, barely a month after his last fight. On November 14, 2004, Faber defeated Eben Kaneshiro by submission (strikes) to win the KOTC Bantamweight championship, co-holding it with the GC Bantamweight title.
On March 13, 2005, Faber made his return to GC, defeating David Granados by rear naked choke at 2:13 of round 1. On May 7, 2005, he defended his KOTC belt for the first time, defeating Hiroyuki Abe by TKO(cut) at 2:37 of the third round. Returning to GC on September 10, 2005, Faber had his first defeat, losing the GC Bantamweight championship to Tyson Griffin by TKO(strikes) at :05 seconds of round 3.
On October 29, 2005, Faber defended his KOTC title again, defeating Shawn Bias by guillotine choke at 1:24 of the first round. He returned to GC on December 11, 2005, defeating Charles Bennett by rear naked choke at 4:38 of round 1. Faber then fought at a TKO Major League MMA event on January 8, 2006, facing Ivan Menjivar. Faber won by disqualification at 2:02 of the second round when Menjivar landed an illegal kick to a downed Faber.
World Extreme Cagefighting[]
On March 17, 2006, Faber competed for the first time in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion, defeating Cole Escovedo by TKO (corner stoppage) after the end of the second round to win the WEC featherweight championship.
On May 13, 2006, Faber defended his KOTC Bantamweight title for the third time, defeating Charlie Valencia by rear naked choke at 3:09 of the first round. Faber then returned to GC July 1, 2006 and defeated Naoya Uematsu by TKO(strikes) at 3:35 of round 2 to reclaim the GC Bantamweight championship, thus holding three titles at once. Faber then took a fight in the Full Contact Promotions organization on September 9, 2006, defeating Enoch Wilson by TKO (strikes) at 1:01 of the second round. On October 28, Faber returned to KOTC and defended his title for the fourth and last time, defeating Bibiano Fernandes by TKO (cut) at 4:16 of round 1. Faber later vacated his KOTC and GC titles upon signing a contract with the WEC after it was purchased by Zuffa in December 2006.
At WEC 25: McCullough vs. Cope on January 20, 2007, Faber defended his WEC Featherweight title for the first time since winning it ten months prior, defeating Joe Pearson by submission(strikes) at 2:31 of the first round. At WEC 26: Condit vs. Alessio on March 24, 2007, he successfully defended his title for a second time by defeating Dominick Cruz by guillotine choke at 1:38 of round 1.
At WEC 28: WrekCage on June 3, 2007, Faber defeated Chance Farrar by rear naked choke at 3:19 of the first round. In his postfight interview, Faber called out K-1 Hero's 2005 middleweight (154 lb) tournament champion Norifumi Yamamoto, though this fight has yet to take place. After this match, Faber took a six month break between fights, the longest of his career. He came back at WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran on December 12, 2007, defeating Jeff Curran by guillotine choke at 4:34 of the second round. Also on this card was the WEC debut of Jens Pulver, who was moving back down to featherweight from the 155 lb lightweight division. In Jens WEC debut, he submitted Cub Swanson in the first round of their match setting up a title match between Jens and Urijah. Pulver and Faber both commented in their postfight interviews that they wanted to fight each other, and the match was signed for June 1, 2008 at WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver. Faber and Pulver fought a constant back-and-forth battle, but neither man was able to finish the other and the fight went the full five rounds, the first time in Faber's WEC career that one of his fights had gone the distance. The judges scored the bout a unanimous decision for Faber, 50-45, 50-44 and 50-44. This fight also marked both the first time that one of Pulver's fights at featherweight had gone to decision and the first time Pulver had been defeated at that weight class.
Losing the title[]
Faber was next scheduled to fight Mike Brown at WEC 36 on September 10, 2008 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. However, this fight was postponed due to the threat of Hurricane Ike and was rescheduled for November 5, 2008 at the same location. Faber was defeated due to strikes at 2:23 of the first round after accidently running into Brown's fist at the end of a spinning back elbow strike.
Attempting to regain the title[]
On January 25, 2009 at WEC 38 Faber fought Jens Pulver in a rematch, with Faber winning by guillotine choke at 1:34 of the first round. Post-fight, Faber addressed WEC featherweight champion Mike Brown, who was seated at ringside and announced he wanted a shot at regaining his title. When Brown made his first successful title defense at WEC 39 in Corpus Christi, Texas, he responded to Faber's comments by saying that a rematch between the two of them was something "the fans want to see."
Urijah Faber was defeated a second time by Mike Brown at WEC 41 on June 7, 2009 by a unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, and 48-47) in front of his hometown crowd in Sacramento. Early in the fight, Faber broke his right hand and later dislocated his left hand, resorting to using primarily elbows and kicks starting in round 3. Nonetheless, even in the fifth round Faber threw 15 left hooks or jabs, many of which connected. Sherdog and ESPN.com in a post-fight article noted that Faber's "right hand was no match for the top of Mike Brown's head." Immediately after the fight, Faber stated he would like another rematch against Brown.
Faber appeared on WEC 43 as a guest commentator and returned to action in January. He submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Raphael Assuncao via rear naked choke in third round at WEC 46[2], earning Submission of the Night honors.[3]
With the victory over Assuncao, Faber is expected to face Jose Aldo for the WEC Featherweight Championship sometime in the spring or summer of 2010.[4]
The Aldo/Faber bout is scheduled to take place on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48.[5]
Mixed martial arts record[]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 49 | 34 wins | 10 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 3 |
| By submission | 19 | 0 |
| By decision | 7 | 7 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Jose Aldo
|
WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber | 2010-04-24 |  Sacramento, California, USA
|
For the WEC Featherweight Championship | |||||
| Win | 23-3 | Raphael Assuncao
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson | 2010-01-10 | 3 | 3:49 | Sacramento, California, USA
|
Won Submission of the Night |
| Loss | 22-3 | Mike Brown
|
Decision (Unanimous) | WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2 | 2009-06-07 | 5 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, USA
|
For the WEC Featherweight Championship
|
| Win | 22-2 | Jens Pulver
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone | 2009-01-25 | 1 | 1:34 | San Diego, California, USA
|
Won Submission of the Night |
| Loss | 21-2 | Mike Brown
|
TKO (Punches) | WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown | 2008-11-05 | 1 | 2:23 | Hollywood, Florida, USA
|
Loss WEC Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 21-1 | Jens Pulver
|
Decision (Unanimous) | WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver | 2008-06-01 | 5 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, USA
|
Defended WEC Featherweight Championship; Won Fight of the Night Honors |
| Win | 20-1 | Jeff Curran
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WEC 31: Faber vs. Curran | 2007-12-12 | 2 | 4:34 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
|
Defended WEC Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 19-1 | Chance Farrar
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WEC 28: WrekCage | 2007-06-03 | 1 | 3:19 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
|
Defended WEC Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 18-1 | Dominick Cruz
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WEC 26: Condit vs. Alessio | 2007-03-24 | 1 | 1:38 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
|
Defended WEC Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 17-1 | Joe Pearson
|
Submission (Punches and Elbows) | WEC 25: McCullough vs. Cope | 2007-01-20 | 1 | 2:31 | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
|
Defended WEC Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 16-1 | Bibiano Fernandes
|
TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | KOTC: All Stars | 2006-10-28 | 1 | 4:16 | Reno, Nevada, USA
|
Title later vacated due to WEC commitments |
| Win | 15-1 | Enoch Wilson
|
TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | FCP: Malice at Cow Palace | 2006-09-09 | 2 | 1:01 | San Francisco, California, USA
|
|
| Win | 14-1 |  Naoya Uematsu
|
TKO (Punches) | GC 51: Madness at the Memorial | 2006-07-01 | 2 | 3:35 | Sacramento, California, USA
|
Won Gladiator Challenge Bantamweight Championship |
| Win | 13-1 | Charlie Valencia
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | KOTC: Predator | 2006-05-13 | 1 | 3:09 | Globe, Arizona, USA
|
|
| Win | 12-1 | Cole Escovedo
|
TKO (Corner Stoppage) | WEC 19: Undisputed | 2006-03-17 | 2 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, USA
|
Won WEC Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 11-1 |  Ivan Menjivar
|
DQ (Illegal kick to downed opponent) | TKO 24: Eruption | 2006-01-28 | 2 | 2:02 | Laval, Quebec, Canada
|
|
| Win | 10-1 | Charles Bennett
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | GC 46: Avalanche | 2005-12-11 | 1 | 4:38 | Coarsegold, California, USA
|
|
| Win | 9-1 | Shawn Bias
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | KOTC: Execution Day | 2005-10-29 | 1 | 1:24 | Reno, Nevada, USA
|
|
| Loss | 8-1 | Tyson Griffin
|
TKO (Punches) | GC 42: Summer Slam | 2005-09-10 | 3 | 0:05 | Lakeport, California, USA
|
Lost Gladiator Challenge Lightweight Championship |
| Win | 8-0 | Hiroyuki Abe
|
TKO (Cut) | KOTC: Mortal Sins | 2005-05-07 | 3 | 2:37 | Primm, Nevada, USA
|
|
| Win | 7-0 | David Granados
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | GC 35: Cold Fury | 2005-03-13 | 1 | 2:13 | Porterville, California, USA
|
|
| Win | 6-0 | Eben Kaneshiro
|
Submission (Punches) | KOTC: Revenge | 2004-11-14 | 3 | 4:33 | San Jacinto, California, USA
|
Won King Of The Cage Bantamweight Championship |
| Win | 5-0 | Rami Boukai
|
Decision (Majority) | KOTC: San Jacinto | 2004-09-24 | 2 | 5:00 | San Jacinto, California, USA
|
|
| Win | 4-0 | Del Hawkins
|
TKO (Punches) | GC 30: Gladiator Challenge 30 | 2004-08-19 | 1 | 3:19 | Colusa, California, USA
|
|
| Win | 3-0 | David Velasquez
|
Decision (Unanimous) | GC 27: FightFest 2 | 2004-06-03 | 3 | 5:00 | Colusa, California, USA
|
Won Gladiator Challenge Lightweight Championship |
| Win | 2-0 | George Adkins
|
TKO (Corner Stoppage) | GC 22: Gladiator Challenge 22 | 2004-02-12 | 2 | 2:42 | Colusa, California, USA
|
|
| Win | 1-0 | Jay Valencia
|
Submission (Guillotine Choke) | GC 20: Gladiator Challenge 20 | 2003-11-12 | 1 | 1:22 | Colusa, California, USA
|
References[]
- ↑ Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings. Sherdog.com (March 10, 2010).
- ↑ Henderson Conquers Varner for Title; Faber Wins in Comeback. www.wec.tv. Retrieved on 2010-01-11.
- ↑ WEC 46 bonuses: Campuzano, Wheeler and Faber each earn $10K. mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved on 2010-01-11.
- ↑ Jose Aldo vs. Urijah Faber set; title fight could head WEC's first-ever pay per view. mmajunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved on 2010-01-11.
- ↑ WEC 48 makes jump to PPV official for April 24 in Sacramento with 'Aldo vs Faber'. mmamania.com. Retrieved on 2010-02-03.
External links[]
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