Urijah Faber, still under UFC contract but focusing on grappling matches, remains open to future MMA or boxing opportunities, particularly against notable opponents like Jose Aldo, while emphasizing his passion for jiu-jitsu and staying active at 45.
Urijah Faber is still under UFC contract despite his last fight in 2019. He’s keeping a few doors open for potential future challenges.
Faber competed in Abu Dhabi last Friday, defeating Bibiano Fernandes via decision. This was the main event of ADXC 5.
He told MMA Fighting that fighting under MMA rules isn’t his top choice right now. But he won’t rule it out completely.
“I stay in the drug [testing] pool just because I don’t do drugs and you never know if an opportunity presents itself, but I likely will not be doing MMA [again]. But you never know,” Faber said. “I don’t think I’d want to do bare-knuckle, but you never know. I think I will do combat jiu-jitsu because I feel like that’s the new age, that’s where things are going. My style, Team Alpha BJJ is about staying safe and being dangerous. My jiu-jitsu is real-world applicable, MMA applicable, and it’s the stuff that works for fights. I want to keep building on that and keep showcasing that.
“So MMA, maybe not, but combat jiu-jitsu, yes. More of this grappling, yes.”
Asked if he’d be open to competing again in the UFC since he’s still under contract, the 45-year-old veteran said “it’d have to be the right scenario.” The same applies to bare-knuckle matches.
Faber returned from retirement in July 2019 and walked through rising prospect Ricky Simon in 46 seconds. However, he hasn’t fought in MMA since losing to Petr Yan later that year.
“I’ve had some good offers money-wise for bare-knuckle, but I’m not trying to fight world champion boxers in bare-knuckle,” Faber said. “You know, I’ve got kids; I don’t want to break cheekbones and lose teeth.”
“But if they had an interesting matchup, my boy Conor McGregor is now an owner there, so he could probably find an opponent for me.” He added with a chuckle.
“At [age] 45, I want to keep testing myself and staying active as an athlete. It’s my passion. That’s what I’ve done my whole life.”
Faber’s former opponent Jose Aldo tested himself in boxing after taking some time off from MMA. Recently, Aldo returned to the UFC with a vintage performance against Jonathan Martinez.
Aldo re-signed with the UFC and now faces Mario Bautista in October. Faber would be interested in facing Aldo in the boxing ring someday.
“Chad Mendes and I both fought Jose Aldo and he was our toughest fight,” Faber said with a laugh. “I’d prefer not to get beat up by Aldo at this point in my life.”
“I would do a boxing match against him,” Faber revealed. “They offered me something not too long ago before he signed back with the UFC.”
“It wasn’t super intriguing,” he admitted. “And Aldo has no desire to do bare-knuckle either.”
“I love boxing. Pure boxing, pure wrestling, pure jiu-jitsu. Blending it all together.”
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For now, Faber continues focusing on grappling matches like his contest with Fernandes. He’s riding a two-match win streak.
“Bibiano and I are very alike and like to push ourselves,” said Faber.
He considers himself a world-class jiu-jitsu player and has been competing with top names throughout his career.
“I love to compete and don’t have time for tournaments,” Faber said. “Taking the cream of the crop and showcasing my skill set is something I cherish.”
Being able to get paid for vacation while doing something he loves is a great feeling for him.
“I don’t think many people know how into jiu-jitsu I am,” Faber continued.
He mentioned his unique system at Team Alpha BJJ and how happy he is to showcase it.
“When I turned 45 this year, I thought about staying young by having young intentions,” Faber reflected.
Competing and testing himself keeps him excited about growing as a mixed martial artist.