Will Urijah Faber be in the UFC Hall of Fame?

Urijah Faber has done a lot for the sport of MMA in terms of drawing in fans and popularity. With the serious knee injury to UFC Bantamweight titleholder Dominick Cruz, Faber finds himself again fighting for UFC gold. Faber will face Brazilian sensation Renan Barao for the Interim Bantamweight title in the headliner of UFC 149 from Calgary, Alberta, Canada this Saturday. While much of Faber’s fame and glory was accomplished during his title run in the WEC as Featherweight champ, the WEC is part of Zuffa. Faber will go a long way towards defining his legacy in the UFC with a victory over Barao. Let’s take a look at the reasons Faber will make his way towards the UFC Hall of Fame one day.

It is no secret that Dana White and the UFC brass love fighters who bring it each time out to the cage, and Faber fits this mold. Evident by his most recent loss to Dominick Cruz in a 2011 title fight, Faber prefers to throw power shots and look for submissions rather than win on points. Though he lost that bout, he gained a lot of fans that night when he appeared to do more damage and go for broke more often than the always-cautious Cruz. Faber also gained a ton of respect when he absorbed the most vicious leg kicks that Jose Aldo had to offer. But Faber, while gracious in defeat, is most well-known for his aggressive, wrestling-oriented style that allowed him to hold on to the WEC Featherweight title for over two years. His wins over Bibiano Fenandes, Dominick Cruz, and Jens Pulver will forever be remembered in MMA lore.

Faber is also popular. Always willing to cater to fans, he posts often on Twitter and has been a coach on The Ultimate Fighter. He is one of few fighters to appear in mainstream television commercials. If not for Faber, perhaps the lighter weight fighters of MMA would not enjoy the rise to prominence some have seen in the last few years, with the UFC adding Flyweight, Bantamweight, and Featherweight divisions recently.

Faber sits at 2-1 in his UFC career, and some would argue that he has a lot left to prove to find himself in the UFC Hall of Fame. He does have one Fight of the Night bonus and one Submisson of the Night bonus in that short time. If he can beat Renan Barao, a man who has not lost in a remarkable 29 fights, he will cement his legacy as the godfather of the smaller-weight MMA fighters. With the absorption of the WEC, Faber has become an ambassador of sorts who always promises a top-level fight when he signs on the dotted line. Faber is well on his way to becoming a legend, does he deserve a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame already or is there a lot left to prove?

Further Reading: UFC 149: Faber vs. Barao In-depth Preview Video