Urijah Faber Meets Francisco Rivera At UFC 181
Popular UFC bantamweight Urijah Faber has been out of action since his first round submission win over Alex Caceres at July’s UFC 175 pay-per-view (PPV) from Las Vegas.
That’s a long time without a fight for “The California Kid,” so it’s hardly a surprise to hear that the former WEC featherweight champion has a return to the octagon lined up. Faber will take on No. 12-ranked Francisco Rivera at December’s 6 UFC 181.
The UFC confirmed that both fighters have verbally agreed to the bout tonight.
Faber got back in the win column against Caceres following his TKO loss to former champion Renan Barao at February’s UFC 169, his second loss to the once dominant Brazilian. He was supposed to take on Masanori Kanehara at September 20’s UFC Fight Night 52 from Japan,, but he was forced to withdraw due to injury.
The Team Alpha Male founder will face Rivera in a non-title bout, of which he’s incredibly won all 30 in his career.
But he has six consecutive losses in title fights, so if he ever wants to get another one, he’ll have to make short of work to keep momentum running. That might be no easy task, as Rivera has proven to be a relentless finisher at bantamweight.
He lost a decision to dangerous veteran Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 173, but he won three of his previous four bouts prior to the loss with two knockouts. Rivera would have won four straight were it not for his UFC 149 knockout win over Roland Delorme being changed to a no contest after he tested positive for an over-the-counter stimulant.
“Cisco” will undoubtedly be a decided underdog against Faber, but he has the power to change any fight at 135 pounds. Like Faber, he was previously a featherweight.
With the announcement, UFC 181 is quickly shaping up to be the biggest event of 2014. Headlined by the awaited Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler welterweight title rematch, the PPV will also feature Anthony Pettis’ anticipated return when he faces Gilbert Melendez in the co-main event. UFC 181 will also feature the debut of women’s bantamweight Holly Holm. Here’s a full rundown of the current UFC 181 lineup:
Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler
Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez
Travis Browne vs. Brendan Schaub
Urijah Faber vs. Francisco Rivera
Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington
Tony Ferguson vs. Abel Trujillo
Todd Duffee vs. Anthony Hamilton
Corey Anderson vs. Gian Villante
Eddie Gordon vs. Josh Samman
Photo: Kyle Terada for USA TODAY Sports
