Hey my fellow MMA junkies!
In this post I want to talk about Urijah Faber's huge comeback fight in his hometown at UFC Sacramento as the co-main event of the evening this Saturday, don't forget it. It's in fact my pleasure talking about the California Kid who's one of the pioneers when it comes to lighter weight classes in MMA. Who can forget his epic rivalry VS Dominick Cruz which took 3 fights and a decade to end? A deserved Hall of Famer no doubt about it but it caught me by surprise when he retired in 2016.
I will try my best to NOT give Yall a history lesson and will mostly focus on his upcoming fight VS a very dangerous young man in Ricky Simon. The fight will happen at bantamweight (135lbs) where Urijah also won his StrikeForce title back in the day. Oldschool VS Newschool is probably the best way to describe this great fight.
Who is Ricky Simon?
Ricky is a hungry young lion fighting out of Vancouver, Washington. Currently holding a record of 15-1 (3-0 in the UFC)and even won a title in LFA championship. A prospect to say the least, what I like about him is that he is great everywhere the fight goes. He will brawl if needed, take you down, has great BJJ, tough as nails and comes to fight each and every time. Not saying he will run over Urijah, but will surely try to do that.
Interesting fact, Urijah is 14 years older than Ricky and already had 6 pro fights before Ricky even turned 8 years old.
What's Urijah's motivation to return?
I was thinking about that, this man has a great life, is a successful gym owner while leading Team Alpha Male to numerous world championship fights. Obviously, money isn't the case. While watching an interview made recently Urijah stated that he felt like he lived a selfish life, traveling all the time, never took a minute to maybe start a family life. So he retired and did just that, now a proud father of a baby girl finds new motivation for fighting once again. Plus some extra money won't harm anyone, so yeah, I was wrong about that part. 😄
How I see this fight going?
We have seen a few legends come back in recent times most of them came short VS young prospects but I think we might see a different outcome this time. Urijah was always in shape and even tho he came short himself in fights that counted the most he still is a veteran with a few tricks up his sleeve. I won't give him the edge in standup but if he takes this fight to the ground I think he has a good chance VS Ricky Simon.
While Ricky needs to come in and out fast and avoid the takedown, punish the upper body and make it a standup war from the very beginning. Urijah is great at taking the momentum from opponents, has a great ground game and will look for that rear-naked choke or the guillotine until the buzzer. I'm sure this will be the biggest test of Ricky's young career. What do Yall think?
Who is your favorite to win?
Thank you for stopping by, let me know what Yall think!
Photo Source: www.mmation.com, www.usatmmajunkie.com, Google
