The Sports Informant

By Patrick Ibarra
Editor

When World Extreme Cagefighting Featherweight Urijah Faber lost his championship belt to up-and-comer Mike Brown on Nov. 5, 2008, media and fans thought it was a fluke. When Faber lost to him again on June 7, 2009, fans and media blamed Faber’s broken hands early in the fight for the result.

But when Faber lost to Jose Aldo on Saturday, not one excuse sprang up from anybody. Because unlike Faber’s previous two losses, on April 24 he never really had a shot to win. From start to finish, Aldo dominated the hometown favorite Faber in his backyard in Arco Arena in Sacramento, and everyone who witnessed it saw the torch passed between the two in dramatic fashion.

Champion Jose Aldo has his armed raised while former champ Urijah Faber, right, winces in pain after the fight. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

Aldo (17-1 overall, 7-0 in the WEC) used a flurry of leg kicks to end any hopes of the shorter Faber attacking, and once injuring the former champ’s left leg to the point where he could barely stand on it, Aldo took advantage of his length and quickness to coast to victory. He continuously chopped Faber down with the devastating kicks to the leg, and once nearly ended the fight in the fourth round by dropping elbows and punches down on a Faber in the crucifix position.

When the fight was over, Aldo didn’t have a scratch on him, while a bruised and battered Faber had to be held up by two members of his camp just to be interviewed in the ring.

“He really took away my legs and it was impossible to get something going,” Faber told the WEC. “I was losing mobility. He’s very good. He’s very fast. It was a tough fight. I tried my best.”

Jose Aldo, right, delivers another kick to Urijah Faber's injured leg. (Photo courtesy Greg Ashman)

The question some are asking, though, is if his best is good enough anymore. Faber, once considered one of the greatest fighters pound-for-pound in the world, has lost three of his last five fights. The slump prompted Sacramento Bee writer Victor Contreras to call for Faber’s retirement, a bold statement considering Faber’s record still sits at an impressive 23-4 overall.

“Retire. Retire now, not after another loss in which you’re cheered entering the octagon and booed leaving it,” Contreras wrote, relaying a message he believed Aldo sent loud and clear to Faber during the fight.

While Faber’s impressive win over a talented Raphael Assuncao in January would beg to differ, Faber’s recent beatings have taken their toll. His last two losses at Arco Arena had him leaving in an ambulance last June and on a stretcher last Saturday.

Still, that’s the name of the game for tough fighters; guys who refuse to tap or give up. They suffer broken arms and dislocated parts, and sometimes, that gets them victories. Faber could have given up multiple times against Aldo on Saturday, clearly losing the fight and without the ability to produce an effective offensive attack, but he limped through several rounds to finish the fight with a loss by decision instead. The same was the case against Brown last June, where Faber fought several rounds with injuries to both hands, throwing nothing but elbows the rest of the fight hoping for a miracle that never came.

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The heart of a champion can often create a champion. Faber’s been a champion most of his career, whatever organization he’s been with. Just 17 months ago, he was the Featherweight champion of the WEC. To think he can’t be again is ridiculous.

While Aldo is clearly the most talented fighter in the weight class, head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, including Faber, his success no way stamps an end to Faber’s career. Whether Faber looks to drop to 135, where he has a good shot at being the best in the world (current champion Dominick Cruz’s only career loss is to Faber), or if Faber looks to simply regroup and take another shot at his current division, no one should count him out. To do so would be a mistake, one neither Aldo nor Brown was ready to make in matches with him. It’s why they won, because they knew on any given night Faber could be the champion again and fought like animals to keep that from happening.

It’s Aldo’s time right now. Faber’s time has come and gone. But can it come again? With Faber’s skill, talent, drive and ability, there’s no question that it can, at least not from this writer.