Urijah Faber Reportedly to Return to UFC, Fight Ricky Simon on July 13

Urijah Faber will reportedly make his UFC return July 13 against Ricky Simon in a bantamweight fight.

Ariel Helwani and Marc Raimondi of ESPN.com reported the news. Faber has not fought since defeating Brad Pickett in December 2016. He'd previously lost three of his last four bouts, seemingly ending a Hall of Fame career with a whimper. 

"Looking at today's landscape, I just know that I can compete easily," Faber told Dan Hardy (h/t Yahoo Sports). "I've stayed in great shape. It sounds like fun, and the reason I stopped is because I wanted to. The reason I'm coming back is because I decided I want to."

Faber, who turned 40 on May 14, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2017. 

While he never became a champion in UFC, the WEC featherweight champ said he hopes to return to the sport and compete at the top of the 135-pound division. 

Simon is 15-1 in his professional career and has not lost since joining the UFC. He is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Rani Yahya at UFC 234 in February.

The California Kid's return should give the Sacramento card in July some much-needed flair on the undercard. A main event for the show has not yet been announced.