UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber has made it clear he’s open to ending his retirement if it means getting a fight at UFC on ESPN+ 13 on July 13 in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif.
And now it appears the former WEC featherweight champion has a willing suitor.
Manny Bermudez considers Faber (34-10 MMA, 10-6 UFC) one of his inspirations for getting into mixed martial arts. The Abington, Mass., standout is blazing a path up the UFC bantamweight division with victories via finish in all three of his UFC fights, and stepping in the cage with the legend is something he’d consider an honor.
“I’ve watched him since I was a kid,” Bermudez told MMA Junkie. “And to potentially go from watching him fight on TV as a kid with no idea on how to fight, to be standing across the cage with him would be a definite career/life highlight for me.”
The way Bermudez (14-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) sees this, a matchup with Faber would give both competitors what they seek.
“I’m a young, up-and-coming guy; he’s a legend in the sport,” Bermudez said. “However this fight went would be a big win for either one of us. For me, the reasons it would be big are obvious, but for him, if he wanted to retire and he won, it would be against an undefeated up-and-comer with 12 finishes in 14 pro fights. I’m a submission guy, and he’s never been submitted.”
Fighting Faber in Sacramento is a tall order. He’s headlined legendary events in his hometown, including his WEC 34 win over Jens Pulver in 2008, the WEC pay-per-view card in 2010 which convinced the UFC to absorb the WEC’s lighter weight classes, and the magic moment of Faber’s retirement victory over Brad Pickett in December 2016.
But none of this fazes Bermudez, who is willing to go into the lion’s den to get a fight he’s always wanted.
“I’m willing to go right to his backyard in Sacramento to get this fight going,” Bermudez said.
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