Live on Ariel Helwani’s MMA show, Urijah Faber announced his intention to come out of retirement.
Urijah Faber is considered one of the greatest bantamweight fighters of all time. He was one of the few leading the charge for the lighter weight classes and one of the faces of the WEC, where he was the featherweight champion for almost three years. Along the way, he defeated the likes of Dominick Cruz, Jens Pulver, and Jeff Curran. He was also apart of one of the biggest WEC fights of all time, coming up short against Jose Aldo in the main event of the promotion’s lone pay-per-view card.
Following the closure of the WEC, Faber made his way to the UFC, where he had great success. “The California Kid” challenged for the bantamweight title four times, however, he never won the title. During his five-year stint with the company, he won 10 fights, and defeated notable names such as Eddie Wineland, Brian Bowles, and Brad Pickett. The last of which was his final fight. In December of 2016, he won that bout against Pickett via unanimous decision and rode off into the sunset. However, it appears that won’t go down as his last fight.
On Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, he announced he would be coming out of retirement. Urijah has stayed in the USADA testing pool during his retirement, and thus will be able to jump in to fight whenever he wants. According to Faber, he was offered bouts against Chan Sung Jung and Cub Swanson in 2018, and although he considered accepting the fights, he refrained.
Faber went on to say that a fight with former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw would be the most logical option. Given the bad blood with both sides, and since Faber used to train Dillashaw, it would be a compelling matchup and storyline. However, Dillashaw’s one-year suspension following his loss to Henry Cejudo earlier this year might put those plans on hold, as TJ tested positive for banned substances.
However, if Faber wants to wait for him, a fight with TJ Dillashaw can be a perfect comeback for both.
