Urijah Faber still inspiring his hometown

Lincolnites are proud of Ujihah Faber, who graduated from Lincoln High School in 1998. Many consider him to be the most famous resident to be from this city. They are right about Faber, a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Hall of Famer, also known as The California Kid. Ever since attending Lincoln High School, Faber has been recognized for his athletic skills. Faber earned all-league football accolades as a football cornerback and running back and, during his junior and senior years at Lincoln High, qualified for the wrestling state championships. A few years later, at the University of California at Davis wrestling program, Faber was a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national qualifier, qualifying for the association's tournament in 2001 and 2002. By 2009, he co-owned two Ultimate Fitness gyms, one in Rancho Cordova and one in Sacramento, and founded and coached the winning Mixed Martial Arts team, Team Alpha Male. Faber also had a clothing line, Alpha Male Clothing (livealphamale.com). And all that was accomplished just a mere 11 years after high school. Besides being an Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Famer, Faber's impressive Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career also includes being a World Extreme Cagefighting champion. For those not familiar with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it features the highest-level internationally of mixed-martial arts fighters. Faber is also in the lifestyle, health food, film production, real estate and nonprofit fields. And on July 13, Faber, at age 40, came out of retirement and scored the first knockout of his 17-fight Ultimate Fighting Championship career at Golden 1 Center. Plenty of Placer County fans were in the audience to see Faber beat Ricky Simon, 14 years younger and then No. 15 ranked bantamweight. So Lincolnites are right to boast about Faber. What led Faber to be successful? "Having an open mind to continue to learn, self belief and a strong work ethic," Faber said this week. And through his many accomplishments, Faber inspires all ages, from elementary school students wanting to be like him to older adults who are impressed with his spirit. His advice to students today about staying focused or striving to reach goals is to surround yourself with the right people, don't get distracted and to be fully committed if you want something. In the midst of his killer workdays, Faber still finds time to give back to his Placer County roots. As the story on page 1 reports, Faber spent July 31 training with a few dozen children and adults at his UFC Gym Urijah Faber venue in Rocklin. On his website, Faber states, "My goal is to continue to live a life involving all my passions and I hope I can encourage others to do the same. All the projects that I am working on involve a lot of hard work, a lot of teamwork, and, of course, the most important ingredient, a lot of fun. I am always grateful to meet like-minded people who share the same attitude, motivation and work ethic." Faber practices what he says, as those students July 31 can testify. We're proud and inspired by Faber too. It's cool bragging about him. It's even cooler that Faber remembers his roots and makes time to personally inspire Placer County residents at events.