Urijah Faber’s fight against Frankie Edgar on the UFC’s first-ever event on the Philippines was a technical battle. It was five rounds between two of the best featherweights in the world, but it wasn’t really the fight that fans were hoping to see, in another “Thrilla in Manila”.
Edgar, with his heart and never-say-die attitude, and Faber, with his big overhand right and relentless submissions — that matchup was destined to be a crowd pleaser. But it wasn’t. “Not for lack of effort,” Faber assured on the latest episode of Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour.
“We had a lot of exchanges, kind of like a high-speed chess match they call it. I would have liked to do a little more damage,” said Faber, who can understand that many fans went home unsatisfied that night. “You’ve seen Frankie get rocked before in fights and have to come back, you’re seeing me rock guys and get submissions. It’s harder when you have an even fight. Sometimes, the mismatches are the best fights, because you see one guy just getting his butt whipped real bad. And I don’t think neither of us guys is the one who gets his butt whipped.”
While many fans might have been glad that after five rounds, the encounter between the “California Kid” and the former lightweight champion from the shore of New Jersey was over, Faber would have loved to go another five rounds.
“They should make some special rules where they can make a fight go, like, maybe ten rounds,” Faber said. “Because somebody’s gonna have to break at some point, and I don’t think Frankie and I… we could’ve fought another five rounds easily, you know.”
Faber also hinted that he will continue to switch between the bantamweight and featherweight limit going forward, and talked about his new love and a possible future as a manager. You can watch the whole segment above.
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