Urijah Faber retires with a dominant victory over Brad Pickett
Urijah Faber knew Saturday night would be the last time he would ever step into the Octagon after announcing his retirement ahead of his FOX UFC Fight Night bout against Brad Pickett in his hometown of Sacramento.
And he made the most of it.
While Faber was coming back from the first two-fight skid of his career, "The California Kid" put on one of the best performances of his UFC career as he dismantled Pickett over three straight rounds.
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Faber wasted no time bringing the crowd to their feet as he hammered Pickett with a left hook that sent the British bantamweight crashing to the mat in a heap. Faber quickly followed up looking for the finish but miraculously Pickett somehow survived although things didn't get much better for him on the ground.
Faber continued his assault while constantly fishing for submissions before transitioning to the mount where he blasted Pickett with a series of short punches and elbows.
Pickett made it through the round, but Faber was clearly up big after the first five minutes.
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Following a dominant start, Faber picked up right where he left off by buzzing Pickett with a hard right hand to start the second round before swooping in for a takedown.
Faber continued his attack with a scramble on the mat where he went for his signature guillotine choke but Pickett rolled to get loose before "The California Kid" could latch onto the submission.
It was a relentless pace from Faber as he continued to press forward on Pickett at every turn while landing a couple more takedowns in the final round. With a bloody face courtesy of Faber's punches, Pickett just had no answer although he hung tough until the final bell.
When it was over, the judges all scored the contest 30-26 in favor of Faber, who retires with a win in his final fight.
"This life experience has been amazing," Faber said following the victory.
"It's such a surreal experience. I love doing this, there's nothing like it in the world but I am ready to move forward and do some big things. I feel like I've had such a great road and thank you all for being a part of it."
Faber retires with a 34-10 record overall in the sport including a run as WEC featherweight champion while constantly being ranked at both 145 pounds and 135 pounds throughout his 13 year career that came to a close on Saturday night.
