Urijah Faber’s Next Chapter

Interview by Jake Gould via Zoom, edited for brevity

‍

Twenty one years ago, Urijah Faber was a former collegiate wrestler fresh out of UC Davis whose ultimate dream was to become a badass mixed martial artist. 

‍

That was the extent of it and all it ever really came down to for “The California Kid” — because a 145-pound fighter like him in the year of 2003 had to deal with three harsh realities:

‍

1) MMA was illegal in Urijah’s home state of California (except for on Native American reservations)

‍

2) At the time, the UFC did not even have a weight class for fighters Urijah’s size

‍

3) There was little money to be made fighting in a cage 

‍

Fast forward to 2024 and Faber’s legacy as a mixed martial artist is set. His dominant run as a World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) bantamweight champion helped legitimize lower weight classes; which played a huge part in the UFC’s decision to create 135 and 145-pound divisions as part of its merger with WEC.

‍

With his 16-year professional career in the rearview mirror, Urijah is now guided by his entrepreneurial spirit as he seeks to build a multi-faceted MMA empire. Next on his list of goals: forge a clearer path for young fighters looking to replicate Urijah’s success.

‍

Finding time to chat with the UFC Hall of Famer is difficult enough as it is between his duties of managing his Team Alpha Male fighters from the gym he owns, coaching up-andcomers,

and promoting his regional MMA league: Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat.

“I couldn’t do all of this without leaning on heavily involved and qualified people that I trust as

partners,” Urijah explains.

‍

Chief among those he trusts: Tom Anderson, a longtime events promoter who serves as president of Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat.

‍

Faber was cornering a fighter on the card of one of Anderson’s shows with Firepower Promotions in Sacramento when the two first talked with each other, but it was during an interaction on the subsequent fight card when things really clicked between the two

of them.

‍

“Urijah came up to me and told me that he’d always wanted to have his own promotion,” Anderson says. “And I told him, ‘Well, I just got this thing started, so maybe we could talk about

It.’”

‍

Partnering with Faber proved to be incredibly valuable for Anderson. Tom convinced Urijah that the promotion would fare better with the MMA legend’s name attached to it — thus leading to a full-fledged rebrand that

‍

turned Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat into an attractive destination for both young professionals and amateurs to fight on cards streamed live on the UFC Fight Pass app.

‍

“People love Urijah in Sacramento,” Anderson says. “He has been around forever and represented the city for so long, carrying the banner into the UFC. He takes a million photos every show with the fans and stuff, talks to them. The people who come to the show really enjoy it.”

‍

The biggest name to come from Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat thus far is UFC bantamweight prospect Payton Talbott, a 25-year-old whose unbeaten 9-0 record includes three wins in the UFC — all coming by way of stoppage.

‍

While many of Urijah’s up-and-comers land fights on A1 Combat shows, Anderson handles all of the matchmaking and operation to ensure that there is no favoritism involved.

‍

“I’ve obviously got a team of fighters that get a chance to compete in the organization,” Urijah says. “I’ve done stuff like commentary and helped bring in some sponsors to close loose ends. But for me, it’s about staying in my lane.”

‍

In 2004, Urijah founded Team Alpha Male — a mixed martial arts team that operates out of Sacramento, California. What began as an 8,000-square-foot gym for locals eventually evolved into one of the most respected gyms in MMA, growing in parallel with Faber’s career and the sport itself.

‍

“It slowly became one of the biggest and most well-renowned teams on the planet,” Urijah says, highlighting the success of fighters like Chad Mendes and Joseph Benavidez. “Our team motto is ‘Dream big, work hard, stay positive, and enjoy the journey.’”

‍

Andre Fili is one of several UFC fighters that calls Team Alpha Male home — and the 34-year-old featherweight veteran speaks highly of the family style culture that Faber has built.

‍

“The culture that Faber has built at Team Alpha Male is something unique in fighting,” says Fili, who has a tattoo of Urijah on his leg. “I look at Faber like an older brother. He’s helped guide me in my fight career and also in life. His kids are my niece and nephew. We’re Family.”

‍

Faber cites his mentality of “seeing a need and filling a need” as pivotal to his successful business ventures. His latest venture involves a partnership with Sacramento State’s athletics Department.

‍

In January, Faber and the university announced the creation of Combat U, with Urijah serving as the executive coach of a program set to launch in the Fall 2024 semester for Sac State students of all backgrounds with various levels of competitive experience.

‍

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Urijah spoke with UFC President Dana White in a conversation that helped reinforce Faber’s belief in the sport’s growth potential.

‍

“Dana said, ‘Keep building your little empire of fight-related things, because I’m blowing this sport up,” Faber recalls

‍

While Faber admits that a return to the UFC Octagon is unlikely, that hasn’t stopped him from training. Urijah lives a drug-free lifestyle and remains in the testing pool in case opportunities to

compete present themselves.

‍

“Since I’ve retired, my main way of working out is Brazilian jiu-jitsu,” Urijah says. “And when I got an invitation from Eddie Bravo to do a Combat Jiu-Jitsu match, I decided to hop all over that.”

‍

‍

Knowing Urijah had one combat jiu-jitsu match under his belt already, Tom Anderson decided to ask his business partner if he had any interest in headlining an A1 Combat card at the Visalia Convention Center against grappling legend Jeff Glover.

‍

“Urijah wanted to do something kind of challenging for his 45th birthday,” Anderson recalled. “It was so cool. I mean the video of him tapping out Glover got over a million views. It got a lot of heat on UFC Fight Pass — and it boosted our viewership way up.”

‍

An MMA coach himself, Faber believes strongly in Combat Jiu-Jitsu’s ability to prepare MMA practitioners for more realistic scenarios in the cage.

“I really feel like this is the next progression for jiu-jitsu,” Faber says. “For me, this is prep for my guys to get better at fighting.”

‍

Despite his numerous professional pursuits, Urijah’s primary motivation is his family.

“My new focus, motivation and passion more than anything else is my kids,” Urijah says. “If it weren’t for them, I’d probably liquidate everything and just be on the beach. But I’m trying to take care of them for the rest of their lives.”

‍

As Urijah continues talking about his kids, the clarity of his voice over the phone rings even clearer once he seemingly parks his car.

‍

“I’m trying to be an amazing dad first and foremost, and everything else falls in line with that. I like to compete with myself because it keeps me inspired with my real passion — which is being a dad right now.

‍

Once more, the clarity of the conversation intensifies as he switches over from his car’s hands free device to his iPhone.

‍

“Hey, I gotta go. I’ll call you back. My daughter is about to do a little dance performance.”

‍

“OUR TEAM MOTTO IS ‘DREAM BIG, WORK HARD, STAY POSITIVE, AND ENJOY THE JOURNEY.’”

‍

-- URIJAH FABER

‍