Urijah Faber : Looking back at the storied career of an unlikely star
In retrospect, as we have gained more knowledge and awareness of Urijah Faber's talent and charisma, this may seem like a title that is far from apt. But the world in which Faber rose from apparently impenetrable obscurity to superstardom, was a very different world from the one that we live in today.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
There are inherently very few people in any given field or occupation that can rightly call themselves a legend in their own right. I back this assertion with absolute sincerity. This is an observation not just based on the most surface level accomplishments that they garnered throughout the years within the domain of their work, but also their contributions from outside of the system to shape it into the form that it boasts of today.
Let's get the obvious out of the way; Urijah Faber rocks a resume that very few bantamweights and featherweights can ever hope to achieve by the end of their careers, let alone match up to presently.
His storied career has inadvertently cranked up a lot of impressive numbers including breaking the old and setting a myriad of new records along the way.
Earlier in his career during the WEC days, Faber was the poster boy for the organization which was a feat that was unheard of, considering the sport still had not matured enough to be called mainstream and to top that off, the lighter weight classes' legitimacy was far from established.
The infatuation to watch heavyweights and lack of technique is a primal one, a story that we've went into detail about earlier. The only way the lighter weight classes could counteract this inclination of the uninformed and presumptuous masses was by putting up equally entertaining and high octane fights.
A trait that wasn't hard to come by in Urijah's case due to his high pressure, in your face style of fighting and the tendency to always look for the finish. (the infamous team alpha male guillotine anyone?)
Not giving enough credibility to WEC and Strikeforce fighters is a mistake many casual fans consistently make. In their defence, having a larger than life effect to establish themselves as the industry leader was the UFC's penultimate marketing ploy. Serving the ultimate aim to establish UFC as the umbrella organization under which many other smaller organizations could thrive, but not so much as to branch out on their own.
Questioning the legitimacy of the most elite fighters under WEC and Strikeforce banners is a popular opinion that has worked out well for uplifting the UFC's reputation as the deepest shark tank in the world of MMA. But consider the fighters from these organizations that went on to achieve great success in the UFC. Luke Rockhold, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, Nick Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Daniel Cormier and Ronda Rousey are all testaments to how elite the competition at these organizations actually was.
Suddenly, Faber's five consecutive Featherweight Title defenses in WEC is enough to raise our eyebrows; hopefully, not in surprise.
Even long after Faber was absorbed in the UFC along with the entire roster of WEC and had amassed a reputation of being one of the hard-hitting guys in the bantamweight division, people continued to question his capability to adjust and evolve as a fighter.
While he was one of the most popular fighters on the roster and showed off the battle scars of a seasoned veteran, Faber had a peculiar problem of underperforming in title fights which led to the record of having most losses in title fights in the UFC.
While this remained an Achilles heel throughout his career, facing Faber under any other circumstance in the cage usually meant having to taste some veteran made humble pie along with the complementary L leaving a lasting bitter taste in tandem.
A number of up and coming fighters that Faber faced ended up becoming drastically better versions of themselves and found themselves fighting their way to the top of the division on numerous occasions .
Incidentally, Faber didn't only crush the next generation of MMA fighters but also brought them up, serving as a mentor and by being on a perpetual talent hunt – a venture that rewarded him and the world of MMA with many pleasant surprises in the form of top raw talent, ready to be morphed into a new breed of Mixed Martial Artists.
Urijah's gym served as the incubation tank which, in due course, led to the inception and rise of Team Alpha Male, one of the apex teams in MMA particularly for lighter weight classes. A team that fruitfully produced a litany of title contenders and champions in various promotions.
Joseph Benavidez, Justin Buchholz, Danny Castillo, Chris Holdsworth, Chad Mendes, Cody Garbrandt, Paige VanZant and T.J Dillashaw are just a few renowned names to come under the limelight under Urijah's tutelage.
Faber not only instilled in his home grown prospects the required technical knowhow and the spirit and values that come with camaraderie, but his presence unquestionably made the martial apprentices take a scrutinizing look at their brand image and market value. Faber always stated he wanted to help build 'stars' to pass on the torch, and not just fighters.
In a time when lighter weight classes entirely failed to turn heads, Faber transpired as the unlikely rising star who helped put the sport of MMA on the map and bottoms on the seats. A self proclaimed natural born leader, his magnetism and well spoken personality leaves little doubt for us to contend against the proclamation.
Faber's natural leadership skills could hardly be contained only in one arena which eventually led to his various business ventures.
The man has been interviewed by many famous business magazines including Forbes, which sees him as the premier face of entrepreneurship in the world of MMA. Team Alpha Male, the brainchild of Faber, is a small part of what he does from a business standpoint.
Whether it is founding one of the most famous sport clothing lines in Torque, a supplement company in Purus Labs, a management company in MMA Inc., a dental company in Briteway Dental, a construction business with his dad in Faber construction and even a Kombucha ( a variety of green tea) distribution company in Kombucha Kulture, Faber never shied away from opportunity if it presented itself and even went so far as to create some where none existed.
Always pushing the envelope, Faber still found time to train as a full time professional fighter along with acquiring new real estate to scale his gym business by opening a number of new gyms across the country.
Needless to say, Urijah Faber is a man of varying expertise with a knack for being a serial entrepreneur. His strategy in the business world almost mirrors his antics in the octagon, advancing towards the objective with a relentless pressure and extreme durability, in the face of adversity.
While being a pioneer of the sport himself, the list of elite mixed martial artists that Faber agreed to face promptly is a long one. Everyone from featherweight legend Jose Aldo Jr. to long time rival Dominick Cruz have publicly acknowledged the sturdy warrior spirit and resilience of Faber inside the octagon.
In many instances, we discovered that for an adversary to put him away was more or less always a hopeless tactic. The Mike Brown rematch in WEC is a memorable account of how pliable Urijah really is. Despite breaking both hands in the fight, he continued to plunge forward with elbows and kicks, using sidekicks to establish distance and spinning attacks as he sought to close it.
While he lost the fight due to being virtually handicapped (no pun intended), the fact that he could yet survive an onslaught for 25 minutes and fend for himself in such a circumstance earned him the love and admiration of the fans and other fighters alike.
Despite the fact that that Urijah Faber has left the sport for good, his involvement in many roles as a manager, coach, mentor, entrepreneur and spokesperson for the sport, I rightly suspect, will become even more forthcoming.
Sadly, even in the information age that we currently live in and the countless free marketing tools that come with existing in such a privileged time, many fighters resort to the organization they work for to do all the promotion for them and choose to operate as simple minded, order-taking employees who never step out of the way to do anything for themselves, let alone innovate for the company.
These fighters and the people who share a similar reactive and victim mindset can learn a thing or two from Urijah's proactive, grab-the-bull-by-the-horns mantra of living life.
Whilst his larger than life professional career may have come to a halt, the template of a self promoting, brand image conscious and business savvy fighter that Urijah Faber created has helped inspire many young fighters and even a few old dogs of MMA who are now eager to learn a few new tricks.
And as Faber himself would affirm and testify – that is an realization that is entirely possible.
As an understatement, the philosophy that Urijah Faber embodied in a legendary career continues to bring in fresh eyeballs to the sport along with crème de la crème of mixed martial arts talent from around the globe.