Urijah Faber vs. Brad Pickett slated for UFC on FOX 22

Urijah Faber will look to stave off the first three-fight losing streak of his career when he takes on Brad Pickett in a home game on Dec. 17 at UFC on FOX 22 in Sacramento, Calif. The UFC confirmed the booking on Tuesday following an initial report by The Sacramento Bee.

Faber (33-10) enters the bout riding the toughest stretch of his lengthy mixed martial arts career. The 37-year-old former WEC champion has won just one of his last four contests, sandwiching a victory over Frankie Saenz between losses to Frankie Edgar, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, and most recently Jimmie Rivera at UFC 203.

The loss to Rivera was notable as it was the first time Faber ever tasted defeat as a bantamweight in a non-title contest. Nonetheless, Faber remains ranked No. 7 on the UFC's media-generated rankings and is considered to be a pioneer for the lower weight classes in MMA. He has defeated a who's who of big names over the course of his 14-year career, counting victories over Cruz, Jens Pulver (x2), Raphael Assuncao, Eddie Wineland, and Michael McDonald among many others on his résumé.

Now he'll face another longtime veteran looking to right his own ship in Pickett (25-12), a 38-year-old former bantamweight contender who has gone 3-6 over his last nine fights. Nicknamed "One Punch," Pickett is known for an exciting style that has garnered him seven WEC/UFC fight night bonuses, including five ‘Fight of the Night' honors.

Following a brief dalliance at flyweight, Pickett returned to his home at bantamweight in July 2015 and lost in highlight-reel fashion to Thomas Almeida via flying knee knockout. He went on to pick up a split decision win over Francisco Rivera before suffering a two-minute submission loss at the hands of Iuri Alcantara at UFC 204.

UFC on FOX 22 takes place at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. The event is headlined by a strawweight contest between Paige VanZant and Michelle Waterson.

An updated UFC on FOX 22 fight card can be seen below.

• Paige VanZant vs. Michelle Waterson
• Mickey Gall vs. Sage Northcutt
• Urijah Faber vs. Brad Pickett
• Mike Perry vs. Alan Jouban
• Bryan Barberena vs. Colby Covington
• Scott Holtzman vs. Josh Emmett
• Sultan Aliev vs. Bojan Velickovic
• James Moontasri vs. Alex Morono