Urijah Faber 'wasn't really looking for a fight,' but GFL is paying 'big dollars'
Urijah Faber has at least one more fight left in him — and it won't be in the UFC.
Absent from competition for more than five years, "The California Kid" revealed on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" that his contract with the company expired due to inactivity. The 45-year-old UFC Hall of Famer said he hasn't been much of a target for other promotions throughout his MMA absence, but when the Global Fight League (GFL) emerged as a new player in 2025, Faber was offered a chance at redemption against his old rival Renan Barao. They're now set to collide for the third time as GFL's first main event on May 24 in Los Angeles.
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"I wasn't really looking for a fight," Faber said. "When they offered Barao or the possibility of Barao, that sounds fun to me. He's also a guy that has two wins over me. He's a guy that doesn't necessarily — we didn't have a perfect meet-up both times. It wasn't like it was scheduled and this and that. Like the first time [in 2012], he was a fill-in for Dominick Cruz. The second time [in 2014], I was a fill-in for Dominick Cruz. He's got two wins over me. I wasn't super happy with the way the last one went. The preparation, the call at the end of it and everything else.
"I've got all these guys doing these crazy things to test themselves as they've gotten older, and for me, this seems like a perfect opportunity," Faber continued. "On top of that, it's risk vs. reward. These guys are paying real money. And at this point in your career, been retired for five years, I've stayed super active as a competitor by grappling against the world's best. I've been in the gym every single day, mentoring, rehashing my techniques, breaking down film, and passing on to the next generation. Fifteen minutes is easy for me, man — I could fight 15 minutes in my sleep. I'm excited to get in the greatest health of all time, but now with a purpose."
Faber's hiatus has essentially been a second retirement without ever officially calling it that. The former WEC featherweight champion initially retired in early 2017 while still a contender in the UFC bantamweight division. He famously returned in July 2019 to score a 46-second finish of Ricky Simon in a Sacramento homecoming.
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The Simon win launched Faber into a title-contender bout with future UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan. Faber suffered a third-round knockout loss, and since then has been primarily focused on his Team Alpha Male gym.
"I didn't really have any offers come through," Faber said. "I wasn't really asking for a fight, as you know. I stayed really busy. I'm in this business group, Entrepreneurs Organization, and one of my guys in there, Tyler Smith, has all of our team except for me in that group on this health kick, like he calls it the 'GHOAT,' the greatest health of all times. He's launching this business called hundred.com, and so I've been staying in the testing pool my entire time with the UFC. I had that one little moment where they talked about me and Cub Swanson having a fight, but nothing ever got really talked about. I talked to Cub about it a couple times. We thought it was going to happen, and he was like, somebody told him, 'Oh, Urijah's not going to really fight.' But no one really offered me the fight. I'm not looking for a fight.
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"In the time I've been retired — I mean, I think I retired, I was No. 6 or No. 7 in the world, came out of retirement, had two fights. I think I've done like 10 competitions throughout that time, mostly jiu-jitsu, some combat jiu-jitsu. This last year I did a match against Bibiano Fernandes out in Abu Dhabi, then I did a match with Jeff Glover, both world champions. Just staying busy and stuff."
The regimen Faber followed involved a variety of tests, ranging from blood to saliva, as well as checking things like his testosterone levels — something he'd never done. As a result, Faber discovered he had the natural testosterone levels of a 27-year-old.
On the other side, Faber's trilogy dance partner Barao has been on a break of his own, having last fought in October 2023. It's been tough sledding for the former UFC champion ever since his UFC title fight loss to TJ Dillashaw 11 years ago. Barao is 2-8 in his past 10 fights, and will look to snap a six-fight losing streak against Faber on May 24.
Faber vs. Barao 3 will be the first main event in GFL history. Despite all the unknowns and uncertainty surrounding the new promotion, including a broadcast deal, Faber is confident things will work out. Whether this will be a one-and-done deal for the MMA legend remains to be seen.
Urijah Faber still wants to get one back on Renan Barao. (Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)
(USA TODAY Sports / Reuters)
"The biggest thing for me is I'm not the type of person that tells somebody they can't, and I truly believe that [GFL founder] Darren Owen believes in himself," Faber said. "So whether I believe him or anyone else believes in him, you believe in him, doesn't really matter. We'll know when the first show happens.
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"I've talked to [California State Athletic Commission executive director] Andy Foster, who's in communication with him. He's leading the commission in California. They're taking some precautions to make sure things are up to par. I'm already getting myself into amazing shape, even prior to hearing this. And what do I love to do? I love to fight. I love to be a competitor. So he's got some big goals and a unique setup. I think the first show is going to be big. He has this first show go through, everybody gets paid, and things go the way he says they're going to be, I think that we're looking at something that has some legs.
"I've had a chance to talk to [Owen] one-on-one about what his real goals are," he continued. "For me, I don't like things that are in spite of UFC. I have a lot of respect for the UFC. I have so much gratitude to the leadership there, even had conversations with the leadership priority to accepting this thing, and even though I wasn't under contract, and just making sure that it's something [OK]. ... It's not like something that's trying to bring [the UFC] down, necessarily. It's creating more opportunities for fighters, and there's some big dollars involved. That's great for fighters. If I can get opportunities for my guys in the future, that's great. Whether this idea works out, I don't know, we're yet to see."
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