(This story appears in today’s edition of USA TODAY.)

Urijah Faber still aspires to become a UFC titleholder, he says. If it never happens, though, his legacy will still live on in the record books.

MMA statistics are still in somewhat of an infant stage. Some numbers prove relevant in the fight game, but others are largely meaningless. The records Faber is chasing, though, are as legit as they come.

Through the brief history of MMA, only a handful of elite organizations have emerged. The UFC, Strikeforce, WEC and PRIDE have all shared runs of prominence, but only the UFC, which ultimately absorbed and disbanded the other promotions, still stands.

The world’s best fighters have competed in these organizations. But when it comes to finishing opponents in these prominent fight promotions, few have done it better than “The California Kid.”

If Faber (31-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC) can submit Francisco Rivera (10-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC 181 preliminary card at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center (8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1), he’ll move into a tie for most submission wins in the combined history of the four major promotions.

“I want to get the submission just because I am so close to breaking that record,” Faber tells USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie. “You never want to go into a fight planning to do one thing, but if there’s a submission there, I’m definitely going to take it.”

Faber ruled as featherweight champion of the WEC, which focused on lighter weight classes before the UFC added them, from 2006-2008. In 2011 he joined the UFC and already holds or shares the company’s bantamweight record for wins, finishes, submissions and takedowns.

He’d ultimately like to hold those records not just for the UFC, but for the combined history of those major promotions, too. His 12 UFC/Strikeforce/WEC/PRIDE submissions are just one shy of the record held by heavyweight grappling legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. His 13 finishes (including submissions and knockouts) overall are also one short of the record held by former UFC middleweight champ and MMA legend Anderson Silva.

Faber intends to tie both records with a submission of Rivera at UFC 181.

“I’m definitely aware of it, and I’m going be looking for the finish,” says Faber, who serves as the lead-in to the pay-per-view main card (10 p.m. ET). “It does give me some motivation and some new goals that aren’t just the title. That just reminds me of why I do this.”

At 35 Faber is always looking for new sources of inspiration to compete. Although he’s fallen short in three UFC title fights, Faber is ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings, and record-chasing has proven a nice bonus to the non-title stakes.

In fact, ever since his time as a college wrestler, Faber has kept a mindful eye on the record books. It’s a reason he can be found throughout his university’s books.

“I wasn’t the best wrestler in college, and I wasn’t a national champion or anything, but for my school, I set the all-time win record at U.C. Davis,” Faber says. “To be at the highest level of my new sport as well and close to setting a record is really exciting.”

As Faber racks up the milestones, he stands out from his peers in a very obvious way. He’s achieved the overwhelming majority of his success fighting at bantamweight and featherweight, where finishes are historically rarer. Most of his peers in the record books compete at much heavier weights. It’s a reason Faber’s numbers are all the more impressive.

“He’s the lone dude down there at 145 and below who’s just consistently put guys away,” says Michael Carroll, a research analyst and live statistics producer for FightMetric, which tracks MMA stats and milestones. “Faber’s easily cemented himself as one of the very best fighters in MMA. You don’t even need to be a caveat on weight class. He’s an all-timer.”

For Faber, who’s seen the MMA industry transform many times since his 2003 pro debut, it’s one way to assure he won’t be forgotten in the years to come.

“People in this sport have a short memory in that they always look at your last fight,” Faber says. “To have statistics that will live forever is the best way to remind people of how long I’ve been in this sport, how much success I’ve had, and what kind of legacy I’m going to leave. I’m going to continue to build that recognition.”

For more on UFC 181, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.