Urijah Faber Was Interested In Kron Gracie For UFC Return Fight

When rumors starting coming out that Urijah Faber was looking to return to the Octagon, it appeared he and the UFC had a similar opponent in mind. That was Kron Gracie, the jiu-jitsu ace who is now 1-0 in the UFC and is set to take on Cub Swanson. He says he has been thinking […]

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When rumors starting coming out that Urijah Faber was looking to return to the Octagon, it appeared he and the UFC had a similar opponent in mind. That was Kron Gracie, the jiu-jitsu ace who is now 1-0 in the UFC and is set to take on Cub Swanson.

He says he has been thinking about a return for a while and knew it would eventually come. And, when the Las Vegas-based promotion made its return to Sacramento, he knew it was time:

“I’d been thinking about it for a while,” Faber told MMA Junkie. “I’d been teased with opportunities from the UFC throughout for some short-notice fights and whatnot, but there’s no secret I stayed within the USADA drug pool throughout my retirement time just because I want to be able to if I decide to jump in.

“I’m the kind of guy that follows his heart and the current landscape is exciting for UFC, for mixed martial arts in general and I was having a big FOMO. I’m in the gym every day testing myself against these guys and being around it.”

When the UFC first sent him an offer, it read the name of Kron Gracie. He was super interested in the fight, but it never came to fruition and he is now taking on Ricky Simon. Here’s what Faber had to say about it:

“They offered me the Kron Gracie fight and they said it would be the main event and I said, ‘Yeah, I would be interested in that,’” Faber said. “I know he trains with Nick and Nate Diaz. I don’t know how involved he is with them. I have a really good relationship with those guys and maybe that’s why the fight didn’t happen. Maybe he just didn’t feel like he wanted to do it in Sacramento during that time. He’s a bit of a unique cat. That was offered, they’d talked about Cub Swanson who they’d offered me a couple times in the past. When that was brought up they said no to that deal.”

Regardless, Urijah Faber is just excited to return to the Octagon this Saturday.

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Ricky Simon: It Will be Bittersweet KOing Urijah Faber

Like many others, Ricky Simon grew up admiring Urijah Faber. And whenever you receive an opportunity to compete against your hero, even if the sport is professional face-punching, it is quite the honor. So much so, that in the case of Ricky Simon, he p…

Like many others, Ricky Simon grew up admiring Urijah Faber. And whenever you receive an opportunity to compete against your hero, even if the sport is professional face-punching, it is quite the honor. So much so, that in the case of Ricky Simon, he postponed his honeymoon to instead take the sacred vow of punching […]

The post Ricky Simon: It Will be Bittersweet KOing Urijah Faber appeared first on MMA News.

Josh Emmett Was Surprised Urijah Faber Retired, And ‘Had A Feeling’ He Would Return (Interview)

UFC Hall of Famer, Urijah Faber is back. “The California Kid” announced his retirement in 2016 after he beat Brad Pickett by decision. When he hung up his gloves, the news surprised some, including teammate, Josh Emmett. But, the 40-year-ol…

UFC Hall of Famer, Urijah Faber is back. “The California Kid” announced his retirement in 2016 after he beat Brad Pickett by decision. When he hung up his gloves, the news surprised some, including teammate, Josh Emmett. But, the 40-year-old Faber will return to the Octagon on Saturday to take on Ricky Simon. For Emmett, […]

The post Josh Emmett Was Surprised Urijah Faber Retired, And ‘Had A Feeling’ He Would Return (Interview) appeared first on MMA News.

Ricky Simon Says Chael Sonnen Has Played A Vital Role In His Career (Interview)

When Chael Sonnen announced his retirement from MMA following his loss to Lyoto Machida, it had positive reactions from the MMA world. Fighters acknowledged what a great career he had and his impact on the sport. But, for Ricky Simon, 26, who is set to…

When Chael Sonnen announced his retirement from MMA following his loss to Lyoto Machida, it had positive reactions from the MMA world. Fighters acknowledged what a great career he had and his impact on the sport. But, for Ricky Simon, 26, who is set to fight Urijah Faber this Saturday, seeing Sonnen retire was emotional. […]

The post Ricky Simon Says Chael Sonnen Has Played A Vital Role In His Career (Interview) appeared first on MMA News.

Urijah Faber vs. Ricky Simon In The Works For UFC Sacramento

Yesterday, Urijah Faber had announced he had agreed to a fight for his return with all signs pointing towards him fighting at UFC Sacramento. “Looking at today’s landscape, I just know that I can compete easily. I’ve stayed in great shape,” Faber…

Yesterday, Urijah Faber had announced he had agreed to a fight for his return with all signs pointing towards him fighting at UFC Sacramento. “Looking at today’s landscape, I just know that I can compete easily. I’ve stayed in great shape,” Faber said to Dan Hardy. “It sounds like fun and the reason I stopped […]

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Exclusive: Ricky Simón Talks Cracking Bantamweight Elite

Fresh off his dominant victory at UFC 234, Washington State’s Ricky Simón shares his thoughts on his performance and who he wants next. Simón made the most of his pay-per-view debut at UFC 234 as he thoroughly dominated Rani Yahya with a clear unanimous decision nod. Immediately after his fight, however, Simón was none too […]

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Fresh off his dominant victory at UFC 234, Washington State’s Ricky Simón shares his thoughts on his performance and who he wants next.

Simón made the most of his pay-per-view debut at UFC 234 as he thoroughly dominated Rani Yahya with a clear unanimous decision nod.

Immediately after his fight, however, Simón was none too pleased by his performance. That’s because he is a notoriously hard critic of himself. However, now that he has had a couple of days to take it all in, has Simón changed his tune?

“I always feel like I’m my biggest critic,” Simón told LowkickMMA in a recent interview. “For some reason right after the fight, I could only think of everything I did wrong. One of my coaches, Ian Loveland, wasn’t able to make the trip out, but I could still hear him yelling at me during the fight anytime I would make a mistake.”

“But you know honestly I think I followed the gameplan to a tee. You know, I beat the No. 15 guy in the world so I can’t be too hard on myself,” Simón said.

Cracking the bantamweight elite should be a foregone conclusion for Simón. But as the 26-year-old points out the rankings are fairly unpredictable.

“I never know how the rankings work,” explained Simón. “I feel like Rani should have been ranked high himself. And I definitely want that number next to my name because once you get that a lot of things can change. Not just in the fight game either. As far as getting matched up, getting new contracts, more money, and more sponsorship.”

“I am excited to see the ranking come out and I should definitely have a number next to my name,” Simon concluded.

Shortly after speaking with Simón the UFC released their new updated rankings. Simón will be happy to know that he now has the number 14 next to his name. So now that he has cracked the bantamweight rankings what’s next for Simón?

He has a certain someone in mind.

“Someone I have my sights set on is Rob Font,” Simón told LowkickMMA. “I’m always looking at the rankings and I’m always trying to see the next step and who has what match ups. I feel like that is a great, great fight.”

He continued, “It would be an entertaining fight and it would push me into the top 10. I wanted to break that top ten in 2019 and I’m already on the right track.”

As for what’s in the immediate future for Simón, a wedding. The bantamweight contender is planning a wedding in June, but keeping true to form, Simón would like to get one more fight in before the big day.

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