Urijah Faber is ready for the first show of his A1 Combat promotion
By Nicole Bosco
Urijah Faber is looking to bring some exciting fights to the fans in California and around the world with his new fight promotion A1 Combat.
Urijah Faber is well known for his time inside the UFC Octagon, but now he is making waves outside of it. His almost twenty years of professional fighting experience will now serve him well as he embarks on a different kind of MMA journey. Faber is bringing fights to California is his new fight promotion A1 Combat. “The California Kid” will be putting on shows in his home state of California beginning next month.
Faber spoke to FanSided about what this promotion means to him and to his local community.
“First and foremost, being able to partner with UFC Fight Pass right off the bat and also this awesome partnership with Hard Rock out here in Sacramento, it’s been great,” Faber said. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had substance here when it comes to the MMA scene in Northern California, and I’m pumped to have a new venue for these young up and comers and some of the top fighters that you haven’t heard of.”
This idea of starting his own promotion is not a new idea. Faber admits he had tried this path once before but the timing and his circumstances weren’t right.
“Actually a long time ago I was told not to by the UFC brass a long, long time ago. I mean that climate has changed, and now they’re welcoming it and helping out,” Faber explained. “So for me, it’s just a whole different animal. And it sounded like fun. I don’t feel like I’m an expert operator. So I’ve brought some amazing teammates and partners in on it. And it’s gonna be a really, really cool show.”
A1 Combat will be holding shows in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain. The first event is on May 1 and then following that is a back-to-back pairing on May 28 and 29. The organization is starting out in Faber’s backyard, but he has plans to expand throughout the world.
“Eventually, we’d like to be going internationally we’ve got some great connections over in Brazil that have already shown some interest and you may or may not know but our team has team members from Japan, from China, from the UK, from all over the world,” he said. ” So it’s just about making sense and making sure that we get the ball rolling in the right direction and make sure we know what we’re doing and not trying to get too big. But eventually, I’d like to have a lot more events all across the nation for sure, but the globe eventually.”
The trend of former and current fighter beginning their promotions has been on the rise lately. Faber is now the big boss man behind the scenes after many years inside the cage, but he is not exactly ruling out a return to action. He was recently called out by Cub Swanson, and although nothing has come of that potential bout yet, Faber is open to hearing some ideas. He still has the itch to compete.
“You know, it’s funny I actually just on a whim yesterday decided to go do the US Open nationals for freestyle. So I’m gonna fly out and compete on Thursday. I’m going to be doing hopefully some combat jujitsu in the near future and maybe that’ll lead to me taking one more fight,” Faber explained. “I don’t know. I know I’ve heard about the Cub thing and but I haven’t heard anything from the UFC when it comes to that so if they offer it to me I’ll definitely consider it I’m not afraid of hard work and I love the fight. Obviously, I have to do a switch of mindset. I’m gonna get in and start fighting. But you know, being present at the gym every day helps out. So it’s not completely off the table, but I’m pretty busy. The business is one thing but I’m really enjoying being a full-time dad.”
Faber was excited about the idea of himself and Swanson mixing it up in his A1 Combat but both men are still tied to the UFC at the moment. Faber said he has four fights left on his contract. If he is up to it, many fans would surely like to see him return, especially since one of his rivals, TJ Dillashaw is back in action. Faber, however, seems less than tickled to face off against his former teammate turned enemy.
“Well, I understand Sean Shelby offered him that fight he’s not interested in. Honestly, I wouldn’t really be interested either,” he said. “Unless it was like, a really good payday compared to whoever else I’d fighting because it’d be too much drama and negativity. And I just mean, that makes for great fight theatrics. But unless the return can pay for all that, I don’t really want to put myself through it.”
As for now bringing quality fights to Northern California and setting up the best possible circumstances for his friends and up-and-coming fighters is the goal. He may also be calling on the help of other fighters along the way.
“I’ve always kind of made a point to support all of Sacramento’s MMA in Northern California. I’ve got a great relationship with the Diaz brothers and DC in San Jose. I’ve always stayed pretty much on the up and up on helping out Northern California. But yeah, my guys, in particular, they need fights. They need high-level fights and easy exposure, and it’s a great opportunity for them to get a quality show and get their experience. They get some tough fights.”
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