Urijah Faber recently turned 40 years old and had his first child. So how does he celebrate? By requesting a UFC comeback fight; a request that appears to have been granted.

Though it was unclear a few weeks ago whether or not Faber was serious when he posted on social media about wanting to make a UFC return, we now know for sure. He was dead serious. Faber recently told former UFC title contender and current commentator Dan Hardy that he “just accepted a fight.”

The talk about a return started when Faber said, “I know my baby is keeping me young… but a good ole fist fight could help the cause… #ufcsacramento on the Horizon @ufc 145 or 135 who would be fun?” on his Instagram account. UFC Sacramento takes place on July 13, so that is likely the target.

Why does Urijah Faber want to make a UFC comeback?

But why now? What is making Faber want to jump back in the Octagon after having stepped away two-and-a-half years ago and being immediately inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame?

“Looking at today’s landscape, I just know that I can compete easily,” Faber told Hardy. “I’ve stayed in great shape. It sounds like fun and the reason I stopped is because I wanted to. The reason I’m coming back is  because I decided I want to.”

Though he failed on four occasions to capture a UFC title, Faber believes that he still has it in him to make another championship run, but he insisted that wasn’t necessarily his goal. But he is coming back, that much is for sure.

“I just accepted a fight yesterday, I don’t know if that’s supposed to be put out yet,” Faber said. And he apparently has the opponent lined up, as he and Hardy said it was a good match-up, but neither was willing to divulge a name until they got the green light from UFC officials. 

Conor McGregor wants Urijah Faber to go after former teammate TJ Dillashaw

One fighter that Faber teased he might want – if he sticks around long enough – is TJ Dillashaw, a former teammate that he and his Team Alpha Male had a very public falling out with. Faber said that even Conor McGregor, whom he talks to from time to time, has pushed him to go after Dillashaw.

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“Conor McGregor and I talk on occasion and he’s always clawing at me, ‘Go get that snake! Go get that weasel!’ and you have other sentiment about that. ‘The story’s not over!’ You know how Conor is. He’s hilarious. We have little private conversations on occasions like that.”

Dillashaw, however, is off the table for the near future. He was suspended for two years after testing positive for the banned substance EPO stemming from his January bout with Henry Cejudo, which he lost. 

Whom Faber will face in his return bout and the date have yet to be confirmed, but the UFC Hall of Famer is headed back to the Octagon.

Urijah Faber’s full interview with Dan Hardy

(Courtesy of Full Reptile)

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/urijah-faber-confirms-ufc-comeback-i-just-accepted-a-fight

(Courtesy of UFC)

Royce Gracie’s run to become the first tournament champion in the Ultimate Fighting Championship was a milestone in mixed martial arts… then called no holds barred. But Gracie didn’t stop there. He won two more tournament championships, but then marked another first for the ground-breaking fight promotion.

At UFC 5: Return of the Beast, the Superfight was introduced by setting up a rematch between Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock from their historic first meeting at UFC 1 in 1993.

UFC 5: Return of the Beast took place on April 7, 1995, in Charlotte, N.C. 

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The Gracie vs. Shamrock superfight holds the distinction of being the longest fight in UFC history.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/watch-the-epic-royce-gracie-vs-ken-shamrock-ufc-5-full-superfight

(Courtesy of UFC)

In 1997, UFC 12 was to take place in Buffalo, but a day prior, New York state changed its laws to effectively ban MMA. UFC 12 needed a new home, in a new state, on 24 hours notice.

WATCH the entire UFC 12: JUDGEMENT DAY event free, now!

Originally released on UFC FIGHT PASS, UFC 25 Years in Short is a 25-part documentary series celebrating the UFC silver anniversary. This compilation of short films presents 25 captivating UFC stories, one for each year of existence, and every piece stands alone as an independent feature. Viewed as a whole, these films form a larger, mosaic narrative of the UFC’s amazing evolution, fascinating characters and lasting influence.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/judgement-day-the-story-of-the-ufc-getting-run-out-of-town-video

(Courtesy of UFC)

You never saw UFC 1? You didn’t witness Royce Gracie’s remarkable run through a one-night, eight-man, no-holds-barred tournament? 

UFC 1: The Beginning took place on November 12, 1993. The inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event featured an eight-man tournament with no weight classes, no rules, and no judges. The first ever event to determine the superior fighter in any and every fighting style and martial arts discipline.

Gracie was the man to win it all, but there were several other amazing moment’s along the way. Art Jimmerson thought it would be smart, as a boxer, to fight with one glove. Gerard Gordeau knocked out Teila Tuli with a head kick that sent the sumo wrestler’s tooth flying into the audience. Ken Shamrock brought his submission skills back from Japan to submit Pat Smith.

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If you were unable to witness the first-ever UFC, or even if you did and just want to relive it, take a look back at UFC 1: The Beginning and Royce Gracie forever etching his name in mixed martial arts history.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/never-saw-ufc-1-watch-it-now-free-full-event-video

UFC welterweight Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira is reportedly being sought by police in Rio de Janeiro after allegedly assaulting his ex-wife and taking their five-month-old son with him on his motorcycle.

Reports by multiple outlets in Brazil, including G1, UOL, and ESPN Brazil, indicated that Oliveira was drunk and attacked his ex-wife on Saturday while she was visiting his parents with their five-month-old son. He allegedly punched her and pulled her hair before leaving without a helmet on their son on his motorcycle.

“According to his former partner, he appeared to be drunk and wanted to take the child and leave with the motorcycle,” police chief Andre Lourenco said in the UOL report. “They started an argument, and he would have attacked her with punches to the head and slaps. His parents intervened, put her in the house, but he, very agitated, would have broken the room’s door and attacked her again.

“She took the key off his motorcycle, but he recovered it, took the child and drove away. The police was called in, located the child in a nearby property with his sister, and he wasn’t there. He hasn’t been located until now.”

Oliveira reportedly left the child at the home of his sister, before disappearing.

An unnamed member of Oliveira’s team told MMA Junkie that the news reports were not accurate and that Oliveira was planning to meet with police to give his side of the story, although the team member also said that police were not searching for Oliveira. 

The fighter was also reported as being involved in a drunken altercation with a security guard at a party prior to the alleged incident with his ex-wife.

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“The story being circulated in the media about the incident involving UFC athlete Alex Oliveira does not reflect the reality of the facts,” the statement to MMA Junkie read. “The news that there is an arrest warrant issued for him is false. He will, along with his lawyer, meet with the precinct chief in charge to give his side of what happened in a timely manner.”

The 31-year-old Oliveira (19-7-1, 2NC) is coming off of back-to-back losses including a unanimous-decision loss to Mike Perry at UFC on ESPN+ 8 on April 27 in Florida. Though he has long hung around the Top 15 rankings, Oliveira has yet to make a serious run at a UFC title, having lost three of his five most recent bouts.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/report-ufc-fighter-alex-oliveira-eludes-police-after-alleged-assault-of-ex-wife