Urijah Faber
| Urijah Faber | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Urijah Christopher Faber May 14, 1979 Isla Vista, California, United States |
| Other names | The California Kid |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Weight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) |
| Division | Bantamweight Featherweight |
| Reach | 69.0 in (175 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Sacramento, California |
| Team | Team Alpha Male |
| Trainer | Thonglor "Master Thong" Armatsena Fabio "Pateta" Prado |
| Rank | Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Wrestling | NCAA Division I Wrestling |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 31 |
| Wins | 26 |
| By knockout | 7 |
| By submission | 14 |
| By decision | 4 |
| By disqualification | 1 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 2 |
| By decision | 3 |
| University | University of California, Davis |
| Notable school(s) | Lincoln High School |
| Website | http://www.urijahfaber.com/ |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Last updated on: November 23, 2011 | |
Urijah Christopher Faber[1] (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship 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. As of November 2011, Faber is ranked the #2 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog.[2]
Faber is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Fabio "Pateta" Prado,[3] who, under Carson Gracie Jr., is a 3rd degree black belt.
Early life
Faber was born on May 14, 1979, in Isla Vista, California, to Theo and Suzanne Faber, and grew up in Lincoln. He is of Dutch descent on his fathers side and Italian descent on his mothers side.[citation needed] He went to Glen Edwards Middle School for Jr. High and Lincoln High School for high school.[4] He has two siblings, an older brother named Ryan and a younger sister named Michaella. His sister almost died after a Thanksgiving 2011 car accident. [5] Faber graduated from the University of California at Davis with a Bachelors degree in human development.
Mixed martial arts career
Faber made his professional MMA debut as part of the Gladiator Challenge promotion on November 12, 2003, defeating Jay Valencia by a 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, beating Cole Escovedo by second round doctors stoppage and winning the WEC Featherweight Championship. On May 13, 2006, he fought for the 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, the only loss on Cruz's record.
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 Pulver and Faber. 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 via TKO at 2:23 of the first round.
Road back to 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."
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 thumb, 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 that despite the close (but controversial nevertheless) decision, he would still like another fight against Brown. Though a lot of people thought Faber's incredible heart and performances in rounds 1, 3 and 5 did enough to win himself (Faber) the fight, as Faber very easily won first round, out-striking Brown and then suffering those hand injuries at the end of the round and controlled rounds 3 and 5 with multiple accurate and quick leg and body kicks as well as in round 5 surprisingly left hook and jabbing strikes. However Brown won round 2 dominantly and won round 4 closely, which is what the judges thought was more significant to give Brown the controversial decision victory.
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,[6] earning the Submission of the Night award.[7]
With the victory over Assuncao, Faber earned a shot to fight Jose Aldo for the WEC Featherweight Championship on April 24, 2010 at WEC 48.[8] He was dominated throughout the fight by Aldo, mostly by his kicks that sent him to the canvas several times. Faber lost via unanimous decision.[9]
Move to Bantamweight
Faber decided to move down to Bantamweight after his defeat by Jose Aldo at featherweight. Faber was set to move back down to bantamweight against Japanese striker Takeya Mizugaki on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50.[10] However, Faber was forced off the card with an injury. As a result, Mizugaki was also pulled from the event.[11] Faber defeated Mizugaki via first round rear naked choke at WEC 52, earning Submission of the Night honors.[12][13] With the victory over Mizugaki, Faber won his ninth WEC bout, a promotional record he shares with Antonio Banuelos and Poppies Martinez.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were brought over to compete in the 2 new weight divisions.[14] Upon his UFC debut, Faber was the only WEC fighter to compete in the promotion before Zuffa, LLC owned them, compete exclusively for the WEC until the UFC/WEC merger, and then move over to the UFC.
Faber defeated former WEC Bantamweight Champion Eddie Wineland via unanimous decision in his UFC debut on March 19, 2011 at UFC 128.[15]
A rematch with Dominick Cruz, whose only defeat came by Faber in 2007, took place on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132, in which Faber lost via unanimous decision, the bout earned Fight of the Night honors.[16]
Faber faced Brian Bowles on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139.[17] Faber defeated Bowles via second round submission (guillotine choke), earning Submission of the Night honors. Faber is now expected to fight a trilogy with Dominick Cruz.[18]
Following his win at UFC 139, Faber was selected to be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter: Live opposite Dominick Cruz.[19] Following the conclusion of the reality show, Faber/Cruz III was expected to take place on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148.[20] However, Cruz was forced to pull out of the bout citing ACL injury.[21] Faber is expected to remain on the card in a bout for the UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship. The opponent has yet to be announced.[22]
Championships and awards
- King of the Cage
- KOTC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
- Four successful title defenses
- World Extreme Cagefighting
- WEC Featherweight Championship (One time)
- Five successful title defenses
- Fight of the night (Two Times)
- Submission of the Night (Three Times)
- Most consecutive title defenses in the WEC (Five)
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One Time)
- Submission of the Night (One Time)
Mixed martial arts record
| 31 matches | 26 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 7 | 2 |
| By submission | 14 | 0 |
| By decision | 4 | 3 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 26–6 | Renan Barao | Murder | UFC 148 | July 7, 2012 | 2 | 1:27 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the Iterim UFC Bantamweight Championship; Death of the Night. |
| Win | 26–5 | Brian Bowles | Submission (guillotine choke) | UFC 139 | November 19, 2011 | 1 | 0:03 | San Jose, California, United States | UFC Bantamweight title eliminator. Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 25–5 | Dominick Cruz | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 132 | July 2, 2011 | 5 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the UFC Bantamweight Championship; Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 25–4 | Eddie Wineland | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 128 | March 19, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | UFC Debut |
| Win | 24–4 | Takeya Mizugaki | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | WEC 52 | November 11, 2010 | 1 | 4:50 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Bantamweight; Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 23–4 | José Aldo | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 48 | April 24, 2010 | 5 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States | For the WEC Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 23–3 | Raphael Assunção | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WEC 46 | January 10, 2010 | 3 | 3:49 | Sacramento, California, United States | Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 22–3 | Mike Brown | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 41 | June 7, 2009 | 5 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States | For the WEC Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 22–2 | Jens Pulver | Submission (guillotine choke) | WEC 38 | January 25, 2009 | 1 | 1:34 | San Diego, California, United States | Submission of the Night. |
| Loss | 21–2 | Mike Brown | TKO (punches) | WEC 36 | November 5, 2008 | 1 | 2:23 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | Lost the WEC Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 21–1 | Jens Pulver | Decision (unanimous) | WEC 34 | June 1, 2008 | 5 | 5:00 | Sacramento, California, United States | Defended the WEC Featherweight Championship; Fight of the Night. |
| Win | 20–1 | Jeff Curran | Submission (guillotine choke) | WEC 31 | December 12, 2007 | 2 | 4:34 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended the WEC Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 19–1 | Chance Farrar | Submission (rear-naked choke) | WEC 28 | June 3, 2007 | 1 | 3:19 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended the WEC Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 18–1 | Dominick Cruz | Submission (guillotine choke) | WEC 26 | March 24, 2007 | 1 | 1:38 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended the WEC Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 17–1 | Joe Pearson | Submission (punches and elbows) | WEC 25 | January 20, 2007 | 1 | 2:31 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Defended the WEC Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 16–1 | Bibiano Fernandes | TKO (doctor stoppage) | KOTC: All Stars | October 28, 2006 | 1 | 4:16 | Reno, Nevada, United States | Defended the KOTC Bantamweight Championship. Title vacated for WEC commitments. |
| Win | 15–1 | Enoch Wilson | TKO (doctor stoppage) | FCP: Malice at Cow Palace | September 9, 2006 | 2 | 1:01 | San Francisco, California, United States | |
| Win | 14–1 | Naoya Uematsu | TKO (punches) | GC 51: Madness at the Memorial | July 1, 2006 | 2 | 3:35 | Sacramento, California, United States | |
| Win | 13–1 | Charlie Valencia | Submission (rear-naked choke) | KOTC: Predator | May 13, 2006 | 1 | 3:09 | Globe, Arizona, United States | Defended the KOTC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 12–1 | Cole Escovedo | TKO (corner stoppage) | WEC 19 | March 17, 2006 | 2 | 5:00 | Lemoore, California, United States | WEC Debut; Won the WEC Featherweight Championship |
| Win | 11–1 | Ivan Menjivar | DQ (illegal kick to downed opponent) | TKO 24: Eruption | January 28, 2006 | 2 | 2:02 | Laval, Quebec, Canada | |
| Win | 10–1 | Charles Bennett | Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) | GC 46: Avalanche | December 11, 2005 | 1 | 4:38 | Coarsegold, California, United States | |
| Win | 9–1 | Shawn Bias | Submission (guillotine choke) | KOTC: Execution Day | October 29, 2005 | 1 | 1:24 | Reno, Nevada, United States | Defended the KOTC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Loss | 8–1 | Tyson Griffin | TKO (punches) | GC 42: Summer Slam | September 10, 2005 | 3 | 0:05 | Lakeport, California, United States | |
| Win | 8–0 | Hiroyuki Abe | TKO (cut) | KOTC: Mortal Sins | May 7, 2005 | 3 | 2:37 | Primm, Nevada, United States | Defended the KOTC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 7–0 | David Granados | Submission (rear-naked choke) | GC 35: Cold Fury | March 13, 2005 | 1 | 2:13 | Porterville, California, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Eben Kaneshiro | Submission (punches) | KOTC: Revenge | November 14, 2004 | 3 | 4:33 | San Jacinto, California, United States | Won the KOTC Bantamweight Championship. |
| Win | 5–0 | Rami Boukai | Decision (majority) | KOTC: San Jacinto | September 24, 2004 | 2 | 5:00 | San Jacinto, California, United States | KOTC Debut. |
| Win | 4–0 | Del Hawkins | TKO (punches) | GC 30: Gladiator Challenge 30 | August 19, 2004 | 1 | 3:19 | Colusa, California, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | David Velasquez | Decision (unanimous) | GC 27: FightFest 2 | June 3, 2004 | 3 | 5:00 | Colusa, California, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | George Adkins | TKO (corner stoppage) | GC 22: Gladiator Challenge 22 | February 12, 2004 | 2 | 2:42 | Colusa, California, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Jay Valencia | Submission (guillotine choke) | GC 20: Gladiator Challenge 20 | November 12, 2003 | 1 | 1:22 | Colusa, California, United States |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The MMAX (MMA-XTRA) | MMA Expert/Contributor | 2010 TV series |
| 2011 | Kenny Powers: The K-Swiss MFCEO | Himself | Short film |
| 2011 | Leverage | Roper | 2008 TV series (Episode: "The Carnival Job") |
| 2011 | Cagefighter | Himself | Documentary |
References
- ^ "Mixed Martial Arts Show Results" (PDF). State of Nevada, Athletic Commission. July 2, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
- ^ "Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". Sherdog.com. November 23, 2011.
- ^ Urijah Faber Promoted to Purple Belt | Graciemag
- ^ "Urijah Faber: Why the California Kid is Ready to Blow Up". FIGHTMAGAZINE.com. 2007-12. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Urijah Faber: The Quest for Kumate". SHERDOG.com. 2004-12-07. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
- ^ "Henderson Conquers Varner for Title; Faber Wins in Comeback". www.wec.tv. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ "WEC 46 bonuses: Campuzano, Wheeler and Faber each earn $10K". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ "WEC 48 makes jump to PPV official for April 24 in Sacramento with 'Aldo vs Faber'". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^ "WEC 48 Faber vs Aldo Results: Champ Jose Aldo Dominates Urijah Faber". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
- ^ "Faber MovesTo 135, Faces Mizugaki August 18". MMAWeekly.com. 2010-06-08.
- ^ "Injury forces Urijah Faber out of WEC 50, Takeya Mizugaki pulled from card". mmajunkie.com. 2010-07-09.
- ^ "Faber vs Mizugaki Now Targeted For The Fall". MMARising.com. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- ^ "WEC boss says Faber healed, likely meets Mizugaki at November's WEC event". MMAjunkie.com. 2010-08-20.
- ^ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010.
- ^ "Ex-WEC champs Urijah Faber and Eddie Wineland expected to meet at UFC 128". mmajunkie.com. December 29, 2010.
- ^ "Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber II booked for UFC 132". mmajunkie.com. March 26, 2011.
- ^ "Brian Bowles draws Urijah Faber at November's UFC 139 event". mmajunkie.com. 2011-07-22.
- ^ "Winner of Faber vs. Bowles Gets UFC Title Shot and Possibly a Chance at Redemption". MMAWeekly.com. July 23, 2011.
- ^ "'The Ultimate Fighter 15' coaches revealed: Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber". mmajunkie.com. December 7, 2011.
- ^ "Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber III targeted for UFC 148 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. February 10, 2012.
- ^ Martin, Damon (May 7, 2012). "Dominick Cruz Injured, Out of UFC 148". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
- ^ "Urijah Faber will fight for interim bantamweight title at UFC 148". mmajunkie.com. May 8, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
External links
