SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In his final fight, Urijah Faber dominated fellow vet Brad Pickett over three rounds to close out his career with a unanimous-decision win.
Propelled by a hero’s welcome, Faber (34-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC) nearly finished Pickett (25-13 MMA, 5-8 UFC) in the first round and never let danger close en route to shutout 30-26 scores.
The bantamweight bout was part of today’s UFC on FOX 22 main card at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. It aired on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
“Sacramento, I love you,” he said. “This fighting experience has been amazing. In the future, I’m going to do big things.”
Faber hangs up his gloves after 13 years inside the cage and a decorated run as a former KOTC, Gladiator Challenge and WEC champ. A four-time UFC title challenger, he leaves MMA as one of the sport’s most popular figures never to win a belt in the industry-leader.
After back-to-back losses in his previous two bouts, however, Faber leaves the octagon on a win.
“It’s such a surreal experience,” he said. “There’s nothing like this, but I’m ready to move forward. Thank you all for being a part of it.”
Greeted by a standing ovation, Faber entered the arena to his longtime trademark song “California Love” and was loose and easy as he walked into the cage. He found Pickett to be no easy mark, attacking his lead leg as he tried to keep the Brit at the end of his punches.
The most significant one came after a grappling exchange. Pickett righted himself only to catch a left hook that dropped him cold. Naturally, the audience went nuts, but he managed to survive to the first bell after getting pounded from rear mount.
Dazed and bleeding over left eye, Pickett circled the canvas with a grin and gave Faber a pound before heading back to his chair.
Faber tried his best to give the crowd the finish it wanted, tripping Pickett to the mat and threatening a choke. Pickett saw it coming, however, and used transitions to scramble to his feet. Once, though, he managed to catch Faber with a left hook, sending the favorite end-over-end. It was just a slip, though, and Faber smiled.
The former champ closed the third with a dominant display of grappling, keeping top position and hammering down elbows to close out the fight. Even before the final bell, the crowd was on its feet, ready to give its hometown hero a final salute.
“I just felt the love and let it pump me up,” Faber said. “It’s such a surreal experience. There’s nothing like this, but I’m ready to move forward. Thank you all for being a part of it.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 22 results include:
For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 22, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report from on site in Sacramento.)
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