Urijah Faber
| Urijah Faber | |
|---|---|
Faber in 2009 | |
| Born | Urijah Christopher Faber May 14, 1979 Isla Vista, California, U.S. |
| Other names | The California Kid |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Weight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb) |
| Division | Bantamweight (2003–2006; 2010–2016; 2019) Featherweight (2006–2010; 2015) |
| Reach | 67 in (170 cm) |
| Fighting out of | Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Team | Team Alpha Male |
| Trainer | Thonglor "Master Thong" Armatsena Fábio "Pateta" Prado Martin Kampmann |
| Rank | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Fábio "Pateta" Prado |
| Wrestling | NCAA Division I Wrestling |
| Years active | 2003–2016, 2019 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 46 |
| Wins | 35 |
| By knockout | 10 |
| By submission | 17 |
| By decision | 7 |
| By disqualification | 1 |
| Losses | 11 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By decision | 7 |
| 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 (/jəˈraɪə ˈfeɪbər/ yoo-RY-ə FAY-bər; born May 14, 1979) is an American former mixed martial artist and actor. He competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the founder of Team Alpha Male and is a former WEC Featherweight World Champion, credited for bringing legitimacy and popularity to the lighter weight divisions.
Faber was an NCAA wrestler. With his base in wrestling, he later started Brazilian jiu-jitsu and quickly earned a brown belt under Fábio "Pateta" Prado. Faber won the WEC featherweight championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006, and held the title for over two and a half years until losing it to Mike Brown at WEC 36 on November 5, 2008. He went on to challenge for the WEC featherweight championship two more times and challenged for the UFC Bantamweight Championship four times.
Faber is widely regarded as one of MMA's pioneers for establishing legitimacy to lighter-weight classes. After his retirement on July 6, 2017, Faber was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as a part of the Modern-era wing. He came out of retirement in 2019 and defeated Ricky Simón by first-round TKO.