Sporting his traditional look of cornrowed hair and movie star smile that made him one of the sport's most popular figures, Urijah Faber proved he can still get it done in the octagon.
The California Kid also showed he has a pretty good chin, too.
Faber survived being knocked down in the third round and beat Brad Pickett by unanimous decision to win in the final fight of his career at UFC Fight Night on Saturday night.
"Sac-town, I love you guys," Faber said as the crowd at GoldenOne Center gave him a rousing standing ovation.
The 37-year-old Faber, who announced his retirement earlier this year, repeatedly took Pickett to the mat throughout the fight and scored with crisp, hard head shots that opened a gaping cut on the Englishman's left eye before Pickett landed a sharp straight left that put Faber down with 1:22 left in the third.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Faber (34-10) quickly got to his feet and smiled before chasing Pickett (26-13) down and trying for a final submission attempt as a raucous, near-sellout crowd at GoldenOne Center roared.
"This guy was coming for my head and I knew that," Faber said. "It's a great way to go out. I could very well compete for another 10 years ... but I'm choosing to wrap it up and head into whatever's next."
Pickett, nicknamed One-Punch Pickett, never could mount much of an offence. He spent the early rounds trying to fend off Faber's takedowns and didn't score significantly until late in the final round.
By then, Faber had built too big of a lead.
All three judges scored the fight 30-26.
Michelle Waterson (14-4) won with a rear-naked choke over Paige VanZant in the first round of their scheduled five-round fight in the main event.
Waterson, No. 11 in the strawweight division, took VanZant down midway through the round and quickly got both of her arms locked around VanZant's neck.
VanZant (7-3) tried to work free and at one point had one of Waterson's arms away before Waterson got it locked in again to win at 3:21 after VanZent's hands went limp and she fell unconscious.
In the co-main event Mickey Gall (4-0) submitted up-and-coming Sage Northcutt in the second round of their welterweight bout to stay unbeaten.
