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Urijah Faber
Faber at Fight Night Round IV in Bellingham, Washington in 2009.
Born	Urijah Christopher Faber (1979-06-14) June 14, 1979 (age 45) 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	32
Wins	26
By knockout	7
By submission	14
By decision	4
By disqualification	1
Losses	6
By knockout	2
By decision	4
Other information
University	University of California, Davis
Notable school(s)	Lincoln High School
Website	http://www.urijahfaber.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Urijah Christopher Faber (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 August 2012, Faber is ranked the #3 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog.

Faber is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under Fabio "Pateta" Prado, who, under Carlson Gracie Jr., is a 5th 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 father's side. He went to Glen Edwards Middle School for Jr. High and Lincoln High School for high school. 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. Faber graduated from the University of California at Davis with a Bachelor's 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 decision, he would still like another fight 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, earning the Submission of the Night award.

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. 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.

Move to Bantamweight

Faber decided to move down to Bantamweight after his defeat by Jose Aldo at featherweight. Faber was set to move down to bantamweight against Japanese striker Takeya Mizugaki on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50. However, Faber was forced off the card with an injury. As a result, Mizugaki was also pulled from the event. Faber defeated Mizugaki via first round rear naked choke at WEC 52, earning Submission of the Night honors. 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. 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.

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.

Faber faced Brian Bowles on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139. Faber defeated Bowles via second round submission (guillotine choke), earning Submission of the Night honors.

Following his win at UFC 139, Faber was selected to be a coach on The Ultimate Fighter: Live opposite Dominick Cruz. Following the conclusion of the reality show, it was confirmed that Faber/Cruz III was expected to take place on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148. However, Cruz was forced to pull out of the bout citing ACL injury. It was then announced that Faber would remain on the UFC 148 fight card and face Renan Barão in a bout for the UFC Interim Bantamweight Championship, where the winner would go onto face Dominick Cruz for the UFC Undisputed Bantamweight Championship at a later date. Due to an injury to headliner José Aldo however (who was supposed to fight Erik Koch in the originally-scheduled main event), the Faber/Barão bout was moved from UFC 149 on July 7, 2012 to UFC 149 on July 21, 2012 as the events' new main event. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, suffering a broken rib during the first round.

Faber is expected to face Ivan Menjivar in a rematch on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157.

Team Alpha Male

Faber founded Team Alpha Male in 2004. The team trains primarily out of Ultimate Fitness located in Sacramento, California and has produced professional fighters such as Joseph Benavidez, Justin Buchholz, Danny Castillo, TJ Dillashaw and Chad Mendes. Members of the team played an integral part of Team Faber during season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (One Time)
  • Submission of the Night (One Time)
• 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)
  • Most successful title defenses in the WEC (Five)
  • Most consecutive title defenses in the WEC Featherweight division (Five)
  • Most successful title defenses in the WEC Featherweight division (Five)
• King of the Cage
  • KOTC Bantamweight Championship (One time)
  • Four successful title defenses

Mixed martial arts record

Filmography

References

1. "Mixed Martial Arts Show Results" (PDF). State of Nevada, Athletic Commission. July 2, 2011. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
2. "Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". Sherdog.com. August 22, 2012.
3. Urijah Faber Promoted to Purple Belt | Graciemag
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7XWaKGiX-o
5. "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)
6. "Urijah Faber: The Quest for Kumate". SHERDOG.com. 2004-12-07. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
7. "Henderson Conquers Varner for Title; Faber Wins in Comeback". www.wec.tv. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
8. "WEC 46 bonuses: Campuzano, Wheeler and Faber each earn $10K". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
9. "WEC 48 makes jump to PPV official for April 24 in Sacramento with 'Aldo vs Faber'". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
10. "WEC 48 Faber vs Aldo Results: Champ Jose Aldo Dominates Urijah Faber". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
11. "Faber MovesTo 135, Faces Mizugaki August 18". MMAWeekly.com. 2010-06-08.
12. "Injury forces Urijah Faber out of WEC 50, Takeya Mizugaki pulled from card". mmajunkie.com. 2010-07-09.
13. "Faber vs Mizugaki Now Targeted For The Fall". MMARising.com. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
14. "WEC boss says Faber healed, likely meets Mizugaki at November's WEC event". MMAjunkie.com. 2010-08-20.
15. "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010.
16. "Ex-WEC champs Urijah Faber and Eddie Wineland expected to meet at UFC 128". mmajunkie.com. December 29, 2010.
17. "Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber II booked for UFC 132". mmajunkie.com. March 26, 2011.
18. "Brian Bowles draws Urijah Faber at November's UFC 139 event". mmajunkie.com. 2011-07-22.
19. "Winner of Faber vs. Bowles Gets UFC Title Shot and Possibly a Chance at Redemption". MMAWeekly.com. July 23, 2011.
20. "'The Ultimate Fighter 15' coaches revealed: Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber". mmajunkie.com. December 7, 2011.
21. "Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber III targeted for UFC 148 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. February 10, 2012.
22. Martin, Damon (May 7, 2012). "Dominick Cruz Injured, Out of UFC 148". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
23. "Renan Barao to fight Urijah Faber at UFC 148 for interim bantamweight title". mmajunkie.com. May 18, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
24. Mrosko, Gene (June 9, 2012). "Jose Aldo injured, Urijah Faber vs Renan Barao fight moved to UFC 149 main event". mmamania.com. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
25. Martin, Damon (December 3, 2012). "Urijah Faber Expected to Rematch Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157 in Anaheim". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
26. "Urijah Faber May Build Team Alpha Male: Vegas for TUF 15". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved January 11, 2012.

External links

• Urijah Faber at UFC
• Official website
• Professional MMA record for Urijah Faber from Sherdog

Template:Persondata

• 1979 births
• Living people
• American mixed martial artists
• American mixed martial artists of Italian descent
• Bantamweight mixed martial artists
• Featherweight mixed martial artists
• Mixed martial artists from California
• World Extreme Cagefighting champions
• Mixed martial arts trainers
• American people of Dutch descent
• University of California, Davis alumni