UFC News: Why Urijah Faber weighed in for UFC on ESPN 8

Last night during the weigh-ins for UFC Fight Night: Harris vs Overeem, Urijah Faber stepped at the scale. It was surprising for the media members present in Jacksonville, Florida.

While Faber’s presence in Jacksonville wasn’t surprising considering that he was cornering Song Yadong. The 22-year old Chinese is scheduled to fight Marlon Vera on the main card.

Faber weighed in at 153.5lbs on the scale even though there were no lightweight bouts on the card. However, Faber told ESPN, that Yadong was dealing with visa issues and if for some reason he couldn’t fight, then Faber hoped to fight on short notice.

An unexpected Urijah Faber weighs in at 153.5 lbs as a potential alternate for #UFCFL.
Full weigh-in results: https://t.co/FZQoMFITH8 pic.twitter.com/TJF32TJR7J
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) May 15, 2020

Even though there was no official confirmation from ESPN, Faber was in the hopes that he could fight Vera in a catchweight bout.

Urijah Faber gives clarification on the weigh-ins

Urijah Faber took to Instagram to give a proper clarification as to why he stepped on the scale.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAOAiv9gkpF/?utm_source=ig_embed

“Putting in the A team. @yadongsong ready to shine! ‘The Damage’ @darrenelkinsmma ready for the Grind! Had about 12 hours to get my juices flowing, visualization self belief on point (that was about it 😎)! Hard to turn down a good time, a tough opponent and a sack of cash 💰…especially on my birthday! So glad I’m sitting the bench, everyone’s in for a treat Saturday. I’m Inspired by @ufc @danawhite and crew’s tenacity and never give up attitude. This organization knows how to fight,” Faber wrote on Instagram.

Urijah Faber made his Octagon return in 2019 after having retired since 2016. He won his comeback fight against Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 155 in July.

He then took on the hard-hitting Russian Petr Yan, who was on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC. The pair fought at UFC 245 and the ‘California Kid’ got knocked out in the third round.

Marlon Vera hoping to climb up the rankings

Marlon Vera is coming off of a five-fight winning streak in the UFC. All his five wins have come via stoppages and he is hoping to make it six in a row in Jacksonville. He also stated that is is happy to get back in action and he isn’t taking Yadong lightly.

“It’s a fight,” Vera said. “Given the moment that we’re in, that’s what was available. So right now, I had to take a fight.

“And at the end of the day, the guy has a ranking spot above me, so I have to go up (in rankings) in some way. We have to do it, and work is work. Whoever doesn’t work doesn’t make money. And it’s not an easy fight. He’s got power, wants to win – so I’m in the same situation. I want to be a champion and I want so many things, but first is Saturday. A lot depends on that day.”