Joe Rogan asks Urijah Faber about Retirement

Hello freak bitches. How does it feel to not have to worry about, we were talking about this before the podcast, not have to worry about weight cutting anymore, to be able to eat healthy, not banged up anymore? Man, it's been really, really nice. You know, I always kind of envision after even wrestling in college, like having a break and then, you know, 14 years longer fighting people. But I mean, it is really nice to be able to, I mean, you go train, I train when I want to, I don't do the stuff I don't want to, I get in and do the grappling rounds and whatnot, but I just feel so much better. You may have had a retirement, you do look healthier, but you made out of retirement perfect. You know what I mean? Like you had a long career, but you didn't get too banged up, like you just, and you picked the right time. You went out with a win with a quality opponent, like right off into the sunset. I know, man. I don't know. I was a little luck, a little bit of, it just felt right though, you know what I mean? The last fight, it went out to what, 5 million people on Big Fox. It was the first fight in my hometown in the new arena that's like the heart and like revived our town. You know, we had Cody fighting for the belt, like coming right up and, you know, it was just perfect, man. Yeah, you timed it good. You timed it good. You know, it's nice. It's nice to see someone do it the right way and I hope other guys coming up can learn from you in that regard. Well, one of the things I thought about was first and foremost, like I've been rocked more in the last two and a half years of my practice and live fights than I had in my entire career, which is, you know, a lot of different factors. Probably, you know, how many times you're rolling the dice, you know, you get hit in the head a bunch of different times. Things are loosened up a little bit. You're getting a little bit older. Guys are getting better. I got Cody Garbrance in the gym and Chad Mendez's and, you know, Lance Palmer, these guys that hit heavy. So, you know, I was just like, that's one factor. Then I lost two fights in a row for the first time in my career ever, even though it was a decision to dominate and a decision to, what's his name? Oh, Riviera. Jim Riviera. Jim Riviera. And it was like kind of lackluster losses, but nonetheless, it was like, you know what, I'm not going to, I'm going to call this one in a good time. Smart, very smart, man. And I really do hope more guys learn, you know, and pay attention to how you did it and do it the right way. Because like, how do you guys feel about like, you know, you've seen like a lot of these guys are going over to Bellator and I think Bellator signed some really good fighters, you know, like Rory McDonald, Lorenz Larkin. And they've got, I mean, Gae Guard Musasi. They got some great talent over there, but they also have guys that are, you know, late 40s, 50s, still banging it out. Freak show stuff. Yeah, freak show stuff. For me, we always talk about this. I tell Uriah, I said, if I start getting fucked up in there and knocked out, like, I'm going to keep fighting. Like, make sure that you pull me away from it. Like, be the homie that says, hey, sits me down. Like, hey, let's do a different career path. You know, I always say that, you know, that's one thing I always say, you know, we're fighters, we're always going to fight through it. And obviously, a lot of different reasons financially or sometimes it's just hard to walk away. What do you do in, you know, the next chapter of your life? People don't set that up. You know, luckily, I'm fortunate. I have a lot of, you know, good people around me. So, you know, I'll have different avenues to go and I always tell them, hey, if I start getting fucked up in there, stop me. Tell me, tell me I'm done. It's also important to understand that the kind of intensity and focus that's required to be a great fighter, you could do anything. I mean, you really can't. Absolutely. Just apply it. Yep, just apply it. Just figure out what that next thing is going to be and go at it the same way you went out your championship career. Yeah, I always tell these guys, you know, we do talks before and after practice and it's like a feather in the cap mentality. We've got guys in there that won't see the UFC daylight. I mean, they'll never see Step Foot in the Octagon, but they get a little bit of pride, whether it was one day or it was 10 years or whatever, of being a part of that team. And that's something they add to their life. They take on them with the next thing. Somebody just comes in for a week. Some guys are going to be, you know, make it to the big show. Some guys are going to be world champions. Some guys are going to be Hall of Famers, you know, and that's whatever your journey is. That's a proud thing you can put in the feather in the cap and move on to whatever you're doing next. But it's a bigger picture and it's like journey's never over. It's just always changing. Thanks for watching.