Urijah Christopher Faber (born May 14, 1979) is a retired American mixed martial artist and actor who fought as a bantamweight and featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Faber won the WEC Featherweight Championship at WEC 19 on March 17, 2006, and held the title for over two years until losing it to Mike Brown at WEC 36 on November 5, 2008. Faber is widely regarded as one of the sport's pioneers for establishing legitimacy to lighter weight classes in MMA. After retirement on July 6, 2017 Faber was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame as a part of the Modern-era wing.
Faber is an NCAA wrestler. With his excellent base in wrestling, he later started Brazilian jiu-jitsu and quickly gained a brown belt under Fábio "Pateta" Prado.
Faber was born on May 14, 1979, in Isla Vista, California, to Theo and Suzanne Faber, and grew up in Lincoln, California. He is of Dutch descent on his father's side, and Italian, English, and Irish on his mother's side. He went to Glen Edwards Middle School, Casa Roble High School and Lincoln High School (Lincoln, California). He has two siblings, an older brother named Ryan and a younger sister named Michaella Tastad. Faber graduated from the University of California at Davis with a bachelor's degree in Human Development. While at UC-Davis, Faber was a two time NCAA national qualifier, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 2001 and 2002.