Retired mixed martial arts (MMA) icon Urijah Faber competed for the final time at UFC on FOX: VanZant vs. Waterson last month. Faber walked out to “California Love” one last time at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. “The California Kid” defeated Brad Pickett by unanimous decision and walked off into the sunset.
The only thing that could make his retirement sweeter was if his Team Alpha Male training partner Cody Garbrandt could win the bantamweight title from the camp’s rival Dominick Cruz. That’s exactly what happened at UFC 207 as “No Love” had a stellar performance to take the gold.
Following Garbrandt’s win, Faber spoke to MMAWeekly.com. He had high praise for “No Love’s” performance and he said he knew it would happen due to his intensity in the gym.
“Cody is a guy that hurts people on accident [in the gym] because he’s such a precision guy, he’s got so many natural talents so we had to get ponied up, geared up.”
One aspect of Garbrandt’s game that Faber wouldn’t discuss in public was his boxing. “The California Kid” said “No Love” grew into that style of fighting.
“Cody has grown up with an understanding of the sweet science since before he was a pre-teen. He understands about judgement, spacing and footwork and things like that. It’s second nature, it’s his instinct. I can stand right there and throw a punch and if it’s not gonna hit him, he knows it’s not gonna hit him. He doesn’t move. That’s something that you have to learn.”
The stand-up is one part of Garbrandt’s game. Faber also acknowledged his strong wrestling base.
“On top of that, he’s a high level wrestler. His pedigree of wrestling is extremely high and then he’s with the best team in the world, the right energy, the right motivation and he’s having fun. That’s a recipe for success and he’s gonna be a long-time champ.”
Faber doesn’t believe Garbrandt will get complacent now that he’s a title holder. He feels this is just the beginning for “No Love.”
“What are you celebrating? Do you want to be a world champ? Sure, he doesn’t want to just be a world champ though. He wants to be the greatest of all time. There’s a difference. We’re gonna celebrate a little, but now it’s time to defend. It’s time to do what he’s destined to do and that is become the greatest.”
