This past weekend, as part of the Fox Sports card of UFC 174, Urijah Faber beat Alex Caceres in an entertaining affair. The former WEC champion is currently ranked number 2 in the world at bantamweight, with his teammate in T.J. Dillashaw now holding the UFC title after a masterful performance against Renan Barao.
With both Team Alpha Male stars sitting at the top of the division, there will naturally be questions about the chances of a potential bout between the two ever happening. Here’s what Faber told Cagewriter:
“You know, the only way that fight would happen is if TJ Dillashaw asked me to do it.”
“The only reason it would happens is if it were something that Dana, Lorenzo, everybody thinks is a must-see and they want to make it worth our while. I don’t necessarily feel like it’s something I want to do. I guess you never rule anything out but it’s not something that I want to do.”
“Everybody that really knows me knows that for me, the goal isn’t necessarily having a title again. I would love to be considered the best in the world. That’s why I do this and why I love to do it but the world title doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re the best – it is just symbolic of it.”
As for Dillashaw, he is basically on the same boat as Faber, who at this point are still quite hesitant on the idea. He addressed it in an interview with MMA Fighting:
“Offer me a billion dollars and then I’ll do it. The guy’s my best friend. We’re family. It would be tough. A lot of teammates that train together, they’re not best friends like we are. The team we have, we have a little clique that, we’re brothers man. It would be tough. It would be tough to fight any of my teammates.”
It may be a bit too early to suggest that these two teammates should face off against each other, especially since they have other challenges ahead of them. Dillashaw still has that rematch against Barao at UFC 177, with the last person to defeat him in Raphael Assuncao also waiting in the wings.
Faber on the other hand, still has to deal with a rib injury from the Caceres fight, and is also being linked to a couple of non-title bouts potentially against Norifumi Yamamoto in Japan or a trilogy against his long time rival in Dominick Cruz if he’s successful in his September return.
If they both clear out the rest of the field, maybe down the road we can start talking about a Faber vs. Dillashaw match up, but right now, it’s still a bit premature to suggest they should break up camp and have these two friends and teammates to fight.
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