Urijah Faber To Retire After UFC Fight Night In Sacramento

Urijah Faber’s mixed martial arts career has come to an end.

Urijah Faber To Retire After UFC Fight Night In Sacramento

The former WEC champion and multi-time UFC title challenger, nicknamed “The California Kid,” announced Monday that he will retire following his next fight against Brad Pickett at FOX UFC Fight Night in Sacramento on Dec. 17.

“I’ve been kind of waiting for this, and this is actually going to be my last fight,” Faber, 37, told MMAFighting. “And it just feels right to do it in (Sacrament) in this new arena. It just feels like the right time and the right place.

“I’ve been waiting for this new arena to be built, I was waiting for that Dominick Cruz opportunity, and I feel like this is going to be an epic event and I can’t wait to do it in front of the people I love.”

The Golden 1 Center just opened in downtown Sacramento and will serve as host to the UFC event headlined by Faber’s teammate Paige VanZant when she faces Michelle Waterson in a straw-weight main event.

Faber has hinted at retirement several times recently after a career that spans 13 years and more than 40 fights in multiple promotions.

Faber has gone 1-3 over his last four fights while losing consecutive decisions to bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, and most recently losing a bout to Jimmie Rivera at UFC 203 in September.

Despite those losses, the Isla Vista native remains one of the best fighters in the world at 135 pounds, and has decided now is the perfect time to fight one last match before hanging up his gloves for good.

“It took a long time to get to this point where I’m skilled enough and I’m in a position where I can fight and have a great time, but like my last fight, and my last couple fights, I haven’t found that emotional rise or fall,” Faber stated. “That is kind of a strange thing for me.

“I still love what I’m doing and that’s the reason why I’m doing it, but I just feel like this is going to be something that’s going to be an emotional thing for me, it’s going to be a passion thing. I’m going to train my butt off, and I just feel like right now is the right time.”

Faber has been devoted to MMA in Sacramento after founding his gym, Ultimate Fitness, which serves as home to Team Alpha Male. There, he established himself as a top fighter and coach, all while training several famous competitors like former bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and current title contender Cody Garbrandt.

LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 12: Urijah Faber celebrates his victory over Frankie Saenz in their bantamweight fight during UFC 194 on December 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)