Did Urijah Faber learn nothing from the Karate Kid?

Did Urijah Faber learn nothing from the Karate Kid? By the third round of the Aldo/ Faber fight, all I could imagine is John Kreese screaming “sweep the leg!” And why the fuck not? Aldo basically dominated that fight with that devastating kick. The bad news for Faber is he did not have a Mr. Miyagi in his corner to do that cool Okanawin healing hands trick.

When I think about this fight in terms of Karate Kid (and who among us hasn’t done that), the question that runs through my mind is why was Danielson able to take down all the Cobra Kai, including Dutch, who looked like he had just snorted a few 8 balls and has a family buried in his back yard? Danielson had just a few months training, which consisted of painting houses, washing cars and hanging out with the slightly creepy janitor from his apartment complex. The answer is simple: Danielson won those fictitious fights with heart.

It makes me wonder how a world class athlete and great former champion like Faber just stood there and took that brutal punishment from Aldo. I understand that Aldo is a Brazilian Jujitsu master and going to the ground with him is a huge risk, but Faber could not even stand. I’m not going to armchair quarterback and say what Faber should have done, but I think we all agree that they needed to change his game plan. Preferable before they had to carry him back to the corner.

I was on Faber’s side for the entire fight. Aldo is a fucking animal and looks like he can easily handle anyone in that weight class. I love the underdog. I love to see people do their sport with pure heart like the way the Butler Bulldogs made a run in this year’s NCCA tournament.

I have never been in a cage facing down a man trained to beat the fuck out of me so I can only speculate what kind of mental toughness it takes to fight, especially at such a high level. Faber has been to the top of the sport because he fought with toughness and heart, but how long can a person really sustain that drive.

Karate Kid had a decent sequel, minus the stupid drums and lame Peter Gabriel theme song. But then Danielson took it one step too far with the third movie. I don’t even remember the fucking plot to that travesty. Just like with Rocky V and the Godfather III, in Aldo/Faber we had to watch a favorite fall from the top.

With that said, I will take nothing away from Faber’s toughness. He took everything Aldo gave him and kept coming forward. That toughness takes a certain kind of heart, but maybe not the same heart it takes to be an aggressive and attacking MMA fighter. At

Is this the last we will see of Urijah Faber? I think he’ll be back, but in reality that’s a question only Faber can answer for himself. No matter what he does next (retire, change weight class, make another run for the title, start his own Cobra Kai dojo) I think he needs to rent Karate Kid and practice that crane technique, because “if do right, no can defense.”

~Tip