Urijah Faber to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this July

It was announced earlier tonight (Sat., April 8, 2017) during UFC 210’s pay-per-view (PPV) broadcast that former WEC featherweight champion and long-time UFC bantamweight title challenger Urijah Faber will be inducted into the UFC Hall Of Fame on July 6 in Las Vegas, Nevada. He will headline the Hall of Fame event and be the first inductee.

Faber, 37, announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) prior to his victory over Brad Pickett back at UFC on FOX 22. Despite a 0-4 UFC title fight record, “The California Kid” is widely known as the fighter who opened up the door for smaller weight classes. His history in the WEC speaks for itself, but his longevity and resilience in the UFC’s 135-pound division is what really set him up for this honor.

“As a fighter, you don’t take time to sit back and smell the roses when you are going through your career,” said Faber in a UFC press release. “You’re always looking to the future, the next fight, the next camp, the next training session. To have UFC tell you that what you contributed and accomplished over the course of your career is worthy of being remembered for years to come is humbling. I’m so honored. It’s crazy that for so much of my career everyone said I was naïve to think I’d ever get the chance to fight in UFC, and now I’m going to be in the UFC Hall of Fame. It’s going to be a special night for me, my family, friends and teammates in July when I am inducted.”

It isn’t completely crazy to think that Faber may one day come out of retirement for a special fight inside of the Octagon, but he’ll be left to enjoy this momentous occasion in the meantime.