Urijah Faber will conclude his legendary MMA career inside the Octagon this Saturday night against Brad Pickett as part of UFC on FOX 22.
The setting is an ideal one for “The California Kid,” as he’ll meet an opponent he is favored over in his hometown of Sacramento.
But for Faber, he is trying to just treat it like any other fight.
“I haven’t given too much thought about retirement,” he said during a recent interview with Submission Radio. “I’m more of like living in the moment kind of guy. But I feel like the time is right. I know that it’s something that I love to do, but it hasn’t been evoking the same type of emotion as it has in the past. The ups and downs and everything involved is just a little bit different. I still feel real fortunate to be able to work out every day and make a living doing the things that I love. But in all honesty, if I didn’t set a time and say, OK, this is gonna be it, I would’ve just kept on fighting and kept on fighting.
“Because it doesn’t scare me, it’s a nice way to make a buck, I enjoy the process. But I feel fortunate to have my wits about me. I feel fortunate to have my body functioning and feel like I’m in good health, and I just feel like it’s time to be able to focus on some other things and end on a good note.”
Faber, 37 years old, has dropped two straight and three of his last four. He once again competed for UFC gold this past June, falling to Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title.
Cruz will meet Cody Garbrandt, a prized prospect who trains at Team Alpha Male with Faber, later this month for the belt at UFC 207.
“The most dangerous part about Cruz is he’s able to frustrate guys. And what I’ve seen from Cody, unlike guys like TJ Dillashaw – I’ve seen TJ from the very beginning of his career, up until him being in the gym as a champion and preparing to defend the title, and TJ is the worst when he’s frustrated – Cody Garbrandt is better when he’s frustrated,” Faber said. “He’s got a boxing pedigree and a wrestling pedigree that is unmatched within our sport. I mean, he’s a guy that’s had a lot of success as a kid as a wrestler, as a high school wrestler, and then just transferred right into Mixed Martial Arts. And he’s been boxing since he was a little kid. So the frustration that happens when you fight a guy like Cruz, it makes some guys worse and makes some guys better. And for Cody, it’s going to make him better and it’s going to be a bad night for Cruz.”
Urijah Faber will conclude his legendary MMA career inside the Octagon this Saturday night against Brad Pickett as part of UFC on FOX 22.
The setting is an ideal one for “The California Kid,” as he’ll meet an opponent he is favored over in his hometown of Sacramento.
But for Faber, he is trying to just treat it like any other fight.
“I haven’t given too much thought about retirement,” he said during a recent interview with Submission Radio. “I’m more of like living in the moment kind of guy. But I feel like the time is right. I know that it’s something that I love to do, but it hasn’t been evoking the same type of emotion as it has in the past. The ups and downs and everything involved is just a little bit different. I still feel real fortunate to be able to work out every day and make a living doing the things that I love. But in all honesty, if I didn’t set a time and say, OK, this is gonna be it, I would’ve just kept on fighting and kept on fighting.
“Because it doesn’t scare me, it’s a nice way to make a buck, I enjoy the process. But I feel fortunate to have my wits about me. I feel fortunate to have my body functioning and feel like I’m in good health, and I just feel like it’s time to be able to focus on some other things and end on a good note.”
Faber, 37 years old, has dropped two straight and three of his last four. He once again competed for UFC gold this past June, falling to Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title.
Cruz will meet Cody Garbrandt, a prized prospect who trains at Team Alpha Male with Faber, later this month for the belt at UFC 207.
“The most dangerous part about Cruz is he’s able to frustrate guys. And what I’ve seen from Cody, unlike guys like TJ Dillashaw – I’ve seen TJ from the very beginning of his career, up until him being in the gym as a champion and preparing to defend the title, and TJ is the worst when he’s frustrated – Cody Garbrandt is better when he’s frustrated,” Faber said. “He’s got a boxing pedigree and a wrestling pedigree that is unmatched within our sport. I mean, he’s a guy that’s had a lot of success as a kid as a wrestler, as a high school wrestler, and then just transferred right into Mixed Martial Arts. And he’s been boxing since he was a little kid. So the frustration that happens when you fight a guy like Cruz, it makes some guys worse and makes some guys better. And for Cody, it’s going to make him better and it’s going to be a bad night for Cruz.”
