Urijah Faber returns against Petr Yan at UFC 245
Esther Lin, MMA Fighting
Urijah Faber isn’t taking any easy fights in his return to mixed martial arts.
Five months after knocking out bantamweight prospect Ricky Simon in just 46 seconds in Sacramento, “The California Kid” has agreed to face Petr Yan at UFC 245 in Las Vegas on Dec. 14, multiple sources confirmed to MMA Fighting. ESPN first reported the news.
Yan (13-1) has won eight in a row since 2016, including UFC victories over the likes of John Dodson, Jimmie Rivera and Teruto Ishihara. The former ACB bantamweight champion has only lost once as a professional, avenging that defeat to Magomed Magomedov a year later in 2017.
Faber (35-10) stepped away from the sport after defeating Brad Pickett via decision in 2016, but eventually came back to face Simon almost three years later. The former WEC titleholder and UFC contender competed in grappling matches during his time away from MMA.
Both Yan and Faber have traded shots on social media over the past few weeks.
Old @UrijahFaber is wise enough to not mention my name. Don’t act like you don’t know me California grown man. I beat your student, you are welcome to try avenge his loss https://t.co/2i5WCrGkgg
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) August 19, 2019
Petr’s already accepted a fight vs Faber, but Faber is apparently reretired. If Frankie wants to fight in Vegas Dec 14, would be Petr’s honor to fight a legend like him. Wish @funkmasterMMA a speedy recovery.
— Daniel Rubenstein (@dannyrube) September 24, 2019
UFC 245 will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and feature three championship bouts: Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington, Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski, and Amanda Nunes vs. Germaine de Randamie.