Urijah Faber to end retirement, confirms UFC return

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber will return to the Octagon.

The 40-year-old bantamweight is set to end his retirement, and the former WEC champion has already accepted a fight.

“Looking at today’s landscape, I just know that I can compete easily,” Faber told Full Reptile's Dan Hardy in a recent interview. “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 I have decided I want to … I just accepted a fight yesterday, I don’t know if that’s supposed to be put out yet.”

Faber (34-10) announced his retirement following a unanimous decision victory over Brad Pickett at UFC on FOX 22 in December 2016. Less than a year later, Faber was inducted into the modern-era wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.

The Team Alpha Male founder has lost three of his last five fights, including a setback to Dominick Cruz at UFC 199 when he failed to capture the bantamweight title. Faber has been keeping active on the grappling circuit, most recently losing to 17-year-old Nicky Ryan at Polaris 10 on May 25.

The Sacramento native didn't announce a return date or opponent. However, it's likely he'll be headlining the UFC on ESPN+ 13 card, which takes place July 13 in his hometown.