Fighting T.J. Dillashaw could lure Urijah Faber into competing again, but he doubts his former teammate feels the same.
Faber and Dillashaw have been on the outs ever since Dillashaw left Team Alpha Male, which caused major drama in the gym. The beef spilled over when Cody Garbrandt captured the UFC bantamweight title, where he went on to film Season 25 of “The Ultimate Fighter” opposite side Dillashaw.
Tempers flared, emotions were shared, and brawls broke out during the filming of the show. Faber is well aware of the kind of attention a potential fight with Dillashaw (17-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) would garner considering their history.
But at 42, it would have to be financially worth it for Faber (35-11 MMA, 11-7 UFC).
“I always kind of avoided the idea of fighting him because I just didn’t like the dramatic part of it,” Faber told Submission Radio. “It would just be like, we already have enough freakin’ drama in our lives, and then you have to rehash this and drama that, and you know, that becomes a whole dramatic thing. Now, would it be an intriguing match-up and would it be a great storyline? Absolutely. I would only do that if it was a payday that also excited me. I make pretty good money, and so I would do fights against guys in the top 15 as long as there’s a crowd there and it’s an exciting event for me.
“At this point, I’m also a businessman, I’m a coach, I’m a parent. But a financial raise, raising money to make more money, is something that happens in the business world. I could go have a birthday present to myself, take a fight, and get paid for it. That’s kind of why I came out of retirement. I came out of retirement as a 40th birthday present to myself and a financial raise. And I had a plan for the money, went right into it, and basically tripled that money and then some, actually. So, it would be more of a business and fun, mix of business and pleasure.”
While the bad blood would increase the ratings, Faber thinks them fighting will only harm Dillashaw’s reputation even more. Dillashaw returned from a two-year U.S. Anti-Doping Agency suspension that stemmed from a positive drug test for EPO to edge out top contender Cory Sandhagen in a gutsy performance at UFC on ESPN 27 on Saturday.
And since Faber claims that he knows a lot more than what’s already been publicly revealed, Dillashaw fighting him wouldn’t be a good idea.
“The only reason I would do a fight with T.J., in particular, would be because they would pay me more for that one,” Faber said. “And if they don’t, I wouldn’t do it. And he’s probably the same way. He doesn’t want to fight me. He’s been working hard to regain his (image), try to keep his nose clean, and try to tell his side of the story or whatever the deal is of his cheating scenarios. He doesn’t need the grave digger bringing up the f*cking bones of the last 10 years of him being a creep and a POS. So, I don’t think it’s enticing for him on that front. And for me, I would do it because there would be a bounty on his head, and probably vice versa.”
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