37 year old Urijah Faber’s biggest dream is to hold that UFC belt. He’s watched as his teammate Dillashaw took down Renen Barao to claim the belt, then left Faber’s Team Alpha Male, then lost the belt to Faber’s biggest rival Cruz.
Faber is notorious for blowing up his own guys, in a good way. He takes his post fight interviews as an opportunity to give props to his team and his fighters, he’s always trying to get them big fights. Cruz pointed out that this is probabally because Faber stands to profit from their larger purses, since they’re managed by him and train on his team.
Whatever the reason, Faber’s one of the most well-liked fighters and he’s always down for a scrap. He fights big name guys, he fights lesser known guys, and he does really well – except when it’s time to challenge for the belt.
But Faber’s belt-chasing days are far from over.
In a recent interview on the MMA Hour, Urijah revealed that he’s still going after that UFC gold.
Most recently, Faber lost a 5 round unanimous decision to Dominick Cruz for the belt.
How does Faber get another title shot?
By staying ready, and hoping that a challenger gets injured or that Cruz gets injured and a new interim belt is made.
Faber has already lost to Cruz twice, although he has beaten him once, too.
If Cruz gets injured at the last minute, you can bet Faber’s one of the guys who will get the call. It also helps that he can fight in two different weight classes.
“How many guys have been able to stay on top for this long and be able to knock down contenders and get yourself in position for big fights at 135 and 145 pounds?” Faber said. “This all comes down to matchups.”
It’s not inconcievable that Urijah could put together another string of wins over the next year or two and earn another title shot the good old fashioned way, either. The sooner Cruz loses the belt, the sooner that’s likely to happen… and when it comes to Cruz losing, let’s not hold our breath.
Page 1 of 1:
