When Urijah Faber was taken down right away in the opening round against Luri Alcantara at UFC Fight Night 26 last night, it seemed fitting. He had dominated the lower weight classes for over a decade now. Albeit dropping a loss here and there to only the most elite the sport has to offer.
Yet he flipped the script on Luri, reversing him halfway through the first and raining down sharp elbows. It was more of the same for the next two rounds, and Faber remained the top contender at 135 once again, a weight class he has quietly dominated since going 3-0 in 2013 against top level opponents.
“My jaw’s ok,” said Faber at last night’s post fight presser. “I thought I broke it after that first little uh.. when he was punching me in the face a bunch. And it hurt when I turned back around, and pissed me off. But I don’t think it’s broken. I’ve been eatin. Luri’s tough, that guy was hitting hard and I have to go back and check out how exactly I got in a bad position… He and I are the same kind of fighter, we go out there and get crazy, like right off the bat. So that’s kinda what happened. Sometimes you start things out bad, but it’s all about how you finish. But I finished on top.”
It’s interesting how Faber never seems to slow down. Sure he’s the only UFC fighter to lose four title shots in a row, but what’s more amazing is that he has put himself in a position for a fifth one. After last night’s fight, members of the press were even trying to point out that he would be a good match for top featherweight contender who also fought on the same card, in Michael McDonald.
“We’re just talking in the back,” said Faber. “We’re about an hour away back home. And I was there at his first fight when he was 16, and it’s been fun to watch the kid grow up and we’ve always had a pretty good relationship, and I think it’s a fight that’ll probably happen. I mean I don’t make the matchups, but I don’t want to get hit by any three piece combos from this kid, and so it’s definitely gonna be a battle if it ever happens.”
So it’s clear that the press, the fans, and even Faber feel he is a top contender in any of the lower weight classes, regardless of his current status among the bantamweights. But Faber believes 135 is his home, and that he’s only getting stronger there.
“I’m fighting at 135lb’s and each time I make the weight, I put on more weight in the twelve hours after the weigh in,” said Faber. “I put on 22lb’s this time, and that was crazy for me. But I’m fighting really tough guys. Luri Alcantara is super dangerous, he’s got 24 finishes and 28 wins, and he’s a guy that could be a world champion. He’s at that level. So it makes sense for me to take fights with guys who are also talented, that people know who they are. So I just want some of those fights. And um I’ve got guys in the weight class that are injured that could be fights like that, so I’m just open for anything.”
If he plans on regaining gold, he may have to get past one of the men who have taken him out in recent years. Yet he’s not perturbed at all on the notion avenging losses.
“My worst fights are when someone physically injures me,” reflected Faber at the presser. “Like Barao broke my rib two minutes in, broke my hand against Mike Brown, Jose Aldo kicked the crap out of my leg. So you know, but I’ll still fight ya know. I’m in there until the bitter end. I’ll be hoppin after a person, like tryin to scratch at him or whatever.”