Urijah Faber
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| Urijah Faber | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | California Kid |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) |
| Weight | 140 lb (64 kg) |
| Born | May 14, 1979 |
| Fighting out of | Davis, California |
| Town of birth | Isla Vista, California |
| Fighting style | Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 18 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 1 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Urijah Christopher Faber (born May 14, 1979 in Isla Vista, California) is an American mixed martial artist, currently fighting at featherweight for World Extreme Cagefighting, wherein he is the World Featherweight Champion.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Faber was born on May 14, 1979, in the college town of Isla Vista, California – a small town bordering UC Santa Barbara – and raised in Sacramento, California. Faber was born at home with the help of a midwife and raised holistic - his parents refusing immunization shots. To this day Urijah has scarecely used conventional medicine and has maintained a lifetime of healthy habits in diet and exercise. Urijah attended high school in Lincoln - a small town of about 8,000 people - where he was a standout athlete.
Athletics have been a part of Urijah's life since an early age where he spent much of his childhood and teen years participating in football, roller hockey, and wrestling. After a successful high school career as a wrestler. Urijah moved on to further his wrestling along with his academics at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis).
Although he did not enter college with a scholarship, he was awarded one after his freshman year on the wrestling team. The following year he was the starting 133 lb. wrestler for Davis - a spot that remained his for the rest of his collegiate career. While wrestling in college, Urijah became the all-time win leader for UC Davis and a two time NCAA Division I (D-1) qualifier, finishing in the top 12 in 2002. In freestyle, Urijah competed in the University Nationals where he was a National runner up, becoming the true alternate for the University Nationals World Team. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development, Urijah stayed on staff at UC Davis as the lightweight wrestling coach and began his MMA Career.
[edit] Mixed Martial Arts
Mixed Martial Arts was a sport that had intrigued Urijah from an early age. He was always a fan of all full contact sports, and quickly found a fascination with MMA when the UFC hit the mainstream in 1994. Slightly impressed with the early UFC stars such as Royce Gracie and Tank Abbott, it wasn't long before Urijah found role models in the sport. Standout wrestlers began to make their stand and it wasn't long before Mark Coleman, Tito Ortiz, and Randy Couture became his heroes. Just out of college, and still hungry for competition, Urijah began to pursue fighting in a local organization. For an underpaid wrestling coach, and a former wrestling star, getting paid to compete in a sport in which he loved was all to intriguing. After only one month of jiu-jitsu training and no formal striking preparation, Urijah agreed to his first fight in November of 2003. After a quick win over a game opponent Urijah was hooked and never looked back.
In high school and college wrestling, Urijah was known for his conditioning, relentless attack and an iron will, these same traits were now becoming his trademark in the MMA game. He seemed to walk through opponents and his fighting style was unique and exciting. After only his second fight the promoters of the Gladiator Challenge realized the marketability of the clean cut, baby faced, college grad and he was offered his first title fight at 145 lbs.
After attaining the Gladiator Challenge Belt in June of 2004, Urijah continued to dominate the competition and won the King of the Cage world title in November of the same year. Urijah suffered his first defeat in a hard-fought battle in September of 2005, but bounced back to six consecutive victories and a third World Championship Belt for the World Extreme Cagefighting organization in March of 2006. With each fight, Urijah increased his knowledge of the fight game. He has trained his standup fighting with World Champion Dave Marinoble, and has taken his jiu-jitsu to new levels with teamate and mentor, BJJ World Champion Cassio Werneck. In 2005 Urijah was invited to compete in the prestigious Abu Dhabi submission grappling world championships where he had an impressive showing and established himself as a true mixed martial artist. Urijah has continued to dominate the 145 lb. weight class and continues to increase his knowledge of all aspects of the fight game. He is currently working with Andy Kay, a Muay Tai specialist from Thailand, and Joe Urias, a California native specializing in boxing, and continues to study under Cassio Werneck.
Urijah Faber has established himself as one of the best fighters in the world. His personality and marketebility have set him apart from the crowd and he is quickly becoming a featured lightweight in the world.
After a recent victory he called out current K-1 hero's champion Norifumi Yamamoto.
[edit] MMA Record
| 18-1-0 (wins-losses-draws) | |||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Dominic Cruz | Submission (Guillotine choke) | WEC 26 - Las Vegas | 03/24/2007 | 1 | 1:38 | |
| Win | Joe Pearson | Submission (Strikes) | WEC 25 - Las Vegas | 01/20/2007 | 1 | 2:31 | |
| Win | Bibiano Fernandes | TKO (Cut) | KOTC - All Stars | 10/28/2006 | 1 | 4:16 | |
| Win | Enoch Wilson | TKO | FCP - Malice at Cow Palace | 09/9/2006 | 2 | 1:01 | |
| Win | Naoya Uematsu | TKO (Strikes) | GC 51 - Madness at the Memorial | 07/1/2006 | 2 | 3:35 | |
| Win | Charlie Valencia | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | KOTC - Predator | 05/13/2006 | 1 | ||
| Win | Cole Escovedo | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | WEC 19 - Undisputed | 3/17/2006 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Ivan Menjivar | DQ (Illegal kick to downed opponent)) | TKO 24- Eruption | 01/28/2006 | 2 | 2:02 | |
| Win | Charles Bennett | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | GC 46 - Avalanche | 12/11/2005 | 1 | 4:38 | |
| Win | Shawn Bias | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | KOTC - Execution Day | 10/29/2005 | 1 | 1:24 | |
| Loss | Tyson Griffin | TKO | GC 42 - Summer Slam | 9/10/2005 | 3 | 0:05 | |
| Win | Hiroyuki Abe | TKO (Cut) | KOTC - Mortal Sins | 05/7/2005 | 3 | 2:37 | |
| Win | David Granados | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | GC 35 - Cold Fury | 03/13/2005 | 1 | 2:13 | |
| Win | Eben Kaneshiro | Submission (Strikes) | KOTC - Revenge | 11/14/2004 | 3 | 4:33 | |
| Win | Rami Boukai | Decision (Majority) | KOTC - San Jacinto | 09/24/2004 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Del Hawkins | TKO | GC 30 - Galdiator Challenge 30 | 08/19/2004 | 1 | 3:19 | |
| Win | David Velasquez | Decision (Unanimous) | GC 27 - FightFest 2 | 06/3/2004 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | George Adkins | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | GC 22 - Gladiator Challenge 22 | 02/12/2004 | 2 | 2:42 | |
| Win | Jay Valencia | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | GC 20 - Gladiator Challenge 20 | 11/12/2003 | 1 | 1:22 | |
