5 Urijah Faber fights that never happened in the UFC
UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber accomplished a great deal during his legendary career.
He played a pivotal role in the smaller weight divisions gaining popularity and was one of the faces of the WEC.
‘The California Kid’ has also played a big role outside the cage by forming Team Alpha Male.
Many top fighters have benefited from training under his tutelage. Fighters such as T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt went on to become bantamweight champions. Others continue to ascend the rankings of major MMA promotions.
Faber has had his fair share of big fights during his MMA career.
But there were quite a few that could have been lucrative had they transpired. He competed at both featherweight and bantamweight throughout his career, so there were many possibilities. This list will look at five Urijah Faber fights that never happened in the UFC.
#5. Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson
Demetrious Johnson’s legacy in the UFC is impeccable. He was one of the most dominant champions in the promotion and still holds the record for most consecutive title defenses.
Prior to becoming the greatest flyweight of all-time, Johnson competed at bantamweight.
‘Mighty Mouse’ was successful at 135lbs and had an impressive 14-2 record. His losses came against Brad Pickett in the WEC and then bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.
After moving to 125lbs, Johnson never returned to bantamweight. Despite many interesting matchups, he remained at 125lbs until his move to ONE.
A great time for a Faber vs. Johnson bout would have been 2016. At the time, ‘The California Kid’ was coming off a unanimous decision win over Frankie Saez. He was being linked with a trilogy bout with Dominick Cruz.
Meanwhile, ‘Mighty Mouse’ was so dominant that the promotion awarded a title shot to the winner of TUF season 24. It could have been an entertaining one-off bantamweight bout that could have also provided Faber with a great retirement bout.