Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight Urijah Faber had more than his pride hurt, during a unanimous decision loss to Renan Pegado at UFC 149 in Calgary, Alberta back on July 21, 2012.

Specifically, "The California Kid" was gifted with a broken rib, after he was bludgeoned with a brutal knee to the midsection by "Barao."

There has been speculation that Faber may be eventually added to the UFC 156 card, which is set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada on Super Bowl Weekend (Feb. 2, 2013).

Though the fight (and a future opponent) has not yet been confirmed, Faber told Ron Kruck (of AXS TV's "Inside MMA") that he is hopeful to make his return on a card that would fall within that time frame.

The former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) strap holder has recently been dealt a bit of a setback with his rehabilitation, as he was told by physicians that he needed to take a break from training and have some X-rays taken.

Even so, he's optimistic and confident that he'll be able to make a February return.

"I was back in training, a couple of weeks ago, and I went to get cleared by the doctor, and they told me to stop training. So, I should go again on Monday to get the X-ray, again. I'm hoping I'll be cleared, 100 percent. I've been doing a lot of grappling. It feels fine. I can feel it a little bit there, but I'm feeling fine. I'm thinking February, early February, I'll have a fight, and I'm ready to go on that."

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