UFC Sacramento: Urijah Faber Says Next Bout Will Be His Last
UFC bantamweight Urijah Faber’s next scrap will be the last of his storied career.
During an appearance on The MMA Hour on Monday, Faber announced that he would be retiring after his next fight. Faber takes on Brad Pickett on December 17 at UFC on FOX 22 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.
“This is actually gonna be my last fight. Just feels right to do it in Sac, in this new arena, and it just feels like the right time and the right place,” Faber told host Ariel Helwani.
Faber is coming off a loss to Jimmie Rivera at UFC 203 and now has a quick turnaround taking on Pickett three months later.
“This is gonna be an epic event, and I can’t wait to do it in front of the people I love.”
Faber referenced waiting for a new arena to be built in Sacramento. Golden 1 Center is the home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and will be the site of Faber’s final MMA bout. The question remained of what ‘The California Kid’ would do after hanging up the gloves.
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“I’ve been super blessed in this career. I’m very thankful for the health that I have right now and the success that i’ve had. I’m excited and i’m pretty proud of being able to give back to the next generation of guys. From creating contenders and champions and being a leader of that team. It just feels like now is the time to have a homecoming and a ‘adios’ at the same time.”
Faber, 37-years-old, said he still has the skills to fight and enjoy it, but was missing the emotion that comes with the fight game.
“The last couple fights I haven’t found that emotional rise or fall. That is kind of a strange thing for me. I just feel like this is gonna be something that’s going to be emotional thing for me. It’s going to be a passion thing, I’m going to train my butt off.”
Faber (33-10) has held titles in WEC, KOTC and Gladiator Challenge. Faber has the most wins (9), most finishes (6), and most submissions (6) in the UFC bantamweight division.
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