Urijah Faber: In the Presence of Greatness
by Kid Nate on Jun 2, 2008 9:42 PM EDT
in MMA News
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After watching last night's championship bout between Urijah Faber and Jens Pulver, I'm convinced that Urjiah Faber is the greatest American featherweight in the history of MMA.
Faber is 21-1 (9 TKOS, 9 submissions, 3 decisions) against quality opposition. His opponents have a combined 273-135-12 record with a winning percentage of almost 67%. His only loss came to Tyson Griffen a top fighter in the 155lb division.
Against Pulver, Faber deployed a great game plan featuring straight rights and body kicks against the left-handed Pulver. Faber's quickness was absolutely devastating, Pulver just couldn't get off the first shot, ever. He stunned Pulver repeatedly and nearly finished him in the second. He showed a strong chin too, repeatedly surviving power shots from the feared former UFC champ.
It goes without saying he dominated on the ground. Pulver has a good wrestling game and sprawled out of trouble several times, but Faber also got several takedowns and managed to do some damaging ground and pound in the later rounds.
The only question mark in Urijah's career right now is, who should he fight next. He's thoroughly cleared out the American 145lb ranks.
Over a year ago, Faber was calling out the man he wanted in the LA Times:
Faber's international counterpart as the best 145-pound fighter is Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto of Japan. The two have a lot of similarities, in that both came from a wrestling background, and then learned to excel in the other aspects, Muay Thai, boxing and submissions. Yamamoto, however, is a national hero, whose fights headline prime-time network spectacles in Japan and are often viewed by as many as 25 million people. Yamamoto also fights in the 154-pound weight class even though his fighting weight is about 141 pounds, simply because Hero's doesn't have any lighter division. Yamamoto, who took most of last year off in a failed attempt to make the national team in wrestling, is under contract to the Hero's promotion. But Faber is hoping Zuffa can put such a match together.
"That's the fight I want," he said. "That's the guy people think can beat me. His name is out there so much. Most people say we're the two best guys at the weight. "
Nothing has really changed. Yamamoto is still the biggest challenge out there for Urijah, and vice versa. It doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon, but never say never.
UPDATE Yamamoto's next opponent has been announced for DREAM 5 on July 21: Urijah Faber's teammate Joseph Benavidez.
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The only thing I didn't like...
...about Uriah’s performance was that he was circling into Jens’ power. Against a righty you would want to circle to their left…but circling into Jens’ left hand had me waiting for him to go to sleep.
His quickness allowed him to get away from it. But it was kind of breaking striking 101
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 2, 2008 9:48 PM EDT reply actions
he was doing that on purpose I think
to set up those straight rights he surprised Jens with. He pulled a Karl Rove on Jens, attacking his strength.
Ugh
You know people read fight blogs to AVOID thinking about politics right? Well, now you do. Let us never speak of Turdblossom again.
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
That could be...
it’s still risky circling into someone’s power…especially when they have KO power like Jens
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
"The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls and looking like hard work." -- Thomas Edison
by Brent Brookhouse on Jun 2, 2008 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions
To be fair..
Jens hasn’t knocked anyone out in over two years, much less rock someone. That hand is fragile, he’s getting old and I think that Faber wanted to test his range of movement on Jens’ jab. When it wasn’t landing and Jens refused to be the first to engage (or was beaten to the punch, literally), Faber stayed with what was working. I was convinced that he believed he could put Jens out if he could get him to engage and subsequently counter. Yes, it’s a risky proposition, but Faber is a calculated risk taker (much like Torres) and it has paid dividends in his illustrious career. No doubt about that..
A fight with Yamamoto would be a dream fight for me, personally. WEC could truly break down some international viewership walls if something can get worked out. It would take a great deal of domestic promotion to get the casual American observer interested in it because, unfortunately, Japanese fighters just have not gone over well in the United States, traditionally. I would love for that to change someday soon..
Faber vs. Penn
I’d love to see them fight, maybe at a catch weight of 150. Granted, I think Penn would emerge the victor, but after seeing Faber totally neutralize and dismantle Pulver-and at the stand up game, no less!-I found myself dreaming of this bout.
NO!
No, no, no! Stop thinking of ways for BJ to get out of fighting at 155! The man owes us some title defenses!
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
oh that fight would happen at 155
I figure if Urijah beats Griffin he’s a legit title contender at 155. That’s a mighty big if…
Faber certainly looked excellent the other night against Pulver. Those straight rights were killer, but I kept thinking Pulver was going to catch him since Faber kept putting his head down and leaning forward when he punched. I guess his quickness was way too much, which allows Faber to compensate from any mistakes he may make.
He certainly looks unbeatable, but of course no one is unbeatable. A fight against Yamamoto would be awesome.
So...
What are the odds on Faber later being suspended for some high-end currently-undetectable steroid?
(Kidding! Kidding!)
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ. -- TangleBones
oh Brown is a worthy challenger
but not someone I expect Faber to have serious trouble with. Certainly won’t be a matchup of the magnitude of Pulver or Yamamoto.
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