Dreamweaver: Urijah Faber WEC 36 interview exclusive with MMAmania.com

WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber has emerged as the face of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), racking up five consecutive wins for the Zuffa-owned promotion. In fact, he has not tasted defeat in 13 fights -- an impressive streak that dates back to 2005.
His record, fighting style and personality have thrust him to the forefront of the MMA scene. And the "California Kid" will once again be back in the bright spotlight at WEC 36: "Faber vs. Brown," defending his 145-pound title against number one contender Mike Brown in the main event live on Versus at 8 p.m. ET on November 5.
It's perhaps the toughest test to date for the 29-year-old fighter.
"Mike Brown is a really tough guy," Faber recently told MMAmania.com in an exclusive interview. "He is 19 and 4 out of American Top Team. He fought his last fights in Japan and he has fought before in Russia a little bit. He is tough. He is well rounded and, well, I think I’m going to beat him up."
Faber is infamous in industry circles for his tireless work ethic and dedication to training inside the gym. While most fighters are associated with big name camps like ATT, American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) or X-Treme Couture, among others, Faber spills his blood, sweat and tears in his own facility.
"It’s my own gym, downtown Sacramento," Faber says of Ultimate Fitness. "I feel like it is one of the best facilities in America. We’ve got a lot of top-notch trainers and a lot of great fighters that are going to be coming out of here and making a real big splash in the sport. It is an awesome facility -- I spend most of my time here."
Naturally, Urijah trains under different trainers depending on the discipline being taught. When asked who his trainers are Urijah replied, "My Muay Thai instructor, boxing instructor is Master Thong. He is a really accomplished trainer. He has four WEO champions, two kickboxing world champions and over 300 matches for Muay Thai itself. And I have Fabio Prado -- he is my Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach now. There are a lot of guys on our team that help out as well."
The lone blemish on Urijah’s professional record is courtesy of top UFC lightweight contender Tyson Griffin. It's a result that still eats at him to this day. And even though he compete at 145 pounds and Griffin is entrenched in the 155-pound division, Faber is eager for a rematch.
"Yeah I think it could happen," Faber says about fighting Griffin again. "Maybe not right away, but something, before I’m done fighting and he is done fighting, hopefully, for sure will happen."
As for the difference in weight, Faber has a solution to make the fight happen.
"I’d have to go up in weight," he says. "I wouldn’t necessarily switch over to the UFC. Maybe they would do some kind of cross promotion. I’m not sure how it would work. I’m not really thinking that far into the future right now. I’m just trying to focus on what’s at hand and go day-by-day."
Of course, Faber would be unable to do what he does and enjoy the success that he does without the support of those closest to him ... even if they can't bear to watch him get punched in the face.
"My family support is great," he says. "My mom doesn’t like to come watch me fight. She can’t handle the brutality of it. The idea of me getting punched and stuff like that. But she will watch it after she already knows the results. She has always supported me in my life in just about everything I’ve done. The rest of my family loves it! They know I’m following my dreams."
Those dreams will continue to be reality when Urijah meets up with Mike Brown next Wednesday night. He's prepared as usual, ready to represent the WEC as the face of the promotion with his trademark smile and action-packed performances that have helped elevate him to the upper echelon of the sport.
"Thank you so much for all the support," he says. "I really feel the love. Keep on watching and check out UrijahFaber.com and enjoy the fight. It is going to be exciting."
That's quite the understatement as far as Urijah Faber is concerned.
To check out the complete audio of Penny Buffington's interview with WEC Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber click here. In addition, fans may be very interested to know you can go to UrijahFaber.com or NoFear.com for a chance to win a VIP trip to Sacramento to see Urijah Faber and his Ultimate Fitness gym for an exclusive training session with the champ. The contest begins on November 5.
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18 comments
Comments
I don’t know much about Mike Brown, does anyone give him a chance in hell?
by RedDog on Nov 1, 2008 2:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
nope. i dont. ive seen 2 of his fights (one was against curran and i cant remember the other) but basically to me he looks like a slightly weaker, alot slower version of faber. anything can happen, but it would be shocking to me if brown won. uriah has no real competiton in the wec to me at 145. iwould like to see a few of the smaller ufc lws like guida,tyson or frankie edgar move down and challenge faber. torres maybee, but i would want to see him fight a few good 145 fighters, like jens or garcia 1rst. either that or have faber move up to 155 to the ufc. faber has talked of fighting bj in the future, even though they are friends.
by b.w. on Nov 1, 2008 2:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the insight. Yeah, I think Faber might be in a position right now similar to A. Silva’s where if we ever want to see him challenged for real, he’ll need to move up a class and fight some of those guys. We’ll see how good Brown is coming up.
by RedDog on Nov 1, 2008 3:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think Brown definitely has a chance to win, but I would put Faber as a 2 or 3 to 1 favorite. I think Brown will have a strength advantage over Faber, but Faber is a lot quicker and I think he pushes the pace too much for Brown to keep up. I’m sure it will be an exciting fight, and if Garcia can get past Pulver I would like to see him fight Faber next.
by GregC on Nov 2, 2008 5:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He’ll be much greater than a 2-1 favorite. More like 5-1
by ViolentMike on Nov 3, 2008 11:35 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I dont follow these lower weight classes too much, so who is out there that can challenge Faber? Remember the supposed Faber/Torres fight?
by JV on Nov 1, 2008 4:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Kid would out class Urijah, and I would love to see it!
Most of the top 145 lbs fighters are over in Japan, so Urijah keeps beating up on B-level competition for the most part. Some of the WEC opponents he has faced were good. Jens was a solid test, but Urijah has made a HUGE name for himself in the division, while avoiding the best in the world which are the Japanese.
I need to see Urijah against some guys like Yammamotto or TOkoro to really see what he is made of!
IUts a shame to not see a fighter as good as Urijah matched up against other Elite fighters in the weight class.
by john on Nov 1, 2008 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
kid would outclass urijah? most of the top 145 lbs fighters are over in Japan? seriously?
last time i heard this kind of talk was about 155 lbs. people said gomi would outclass bj and the top 155 lbs fighters were in Japan.
by JB on Nov 1, 2008 9:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He is a very good fighter, he has some very good wins and he recently beat Jeff Curran. He will probably be a little stronger but Faber is faster and more explosive. I would put it at about 70-30 for Faber so yeah, he has a chance, he would most likely have to grind it out if he does win.
by sfmaster on Nov 1, 2008 2:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Cool, I really hope this one is a good fight. Not that Faber fights aren’t always good but he never looks like he is in any danger of losing a fight.
by RedDog on Nov 1, 2008 3:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think if anyone is going to beat Faber it will have to be a KO. He oushes the pace too hard for five rounds to let anyone grind out a 3-2 decision on him.
by PW on Nov 1, 2008 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
awesome interview, look forward o this bout,
by Scott Donaldson on Nov 1, 2008 1:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Faber handles every fight very calm and dominating. I think Faber is top of his game right now. Nuff ’said!!
BTW..Great interview..big fan of Penny!!
by Lincoln on Nov 1, 2008 4:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It is just a matter of time before we will see him in the 155 division in the UFC. He said he is trying to put on some weight so we will see. This should be a good fight.
by Calgary Real Estate on Nov 1, 2008 4:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Uriah Faber is one of the most exciting and marketable fighters out there. Zuffa needs to find a way to increase his exposure soon.
by Muscle Dolphin on Nov 1, 2008 6:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
he’ll headline a PPV next year against the winner of torres and tapia
by randy murders on Nov 2, 2008 12:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

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