Will we see a fight between UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and Urijah Faber, after all? Things have began to go south in the relationship between the two former teammates, since Dillashaw decided to leave Team Alpha Male to train with Duane Ludwig and the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado.
Faber has since said that while they can remain friends, Dillashaw won’t be allowed to train in his old gym anymore after deciding to switch teams.
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Both Ludwig and Dillashaw appeared on Monday’s episode of the MMA Hour to discuss the topic, and the striking coach says it isn’t fair for him to be banned from training at Team Alpha Male.
“It’s super unfortunate that Faber kicked him out. I don’t think that’s quite supportive or being a friend,” Ludwig said. “I think we should all be working together as martial artists. And for anyone to close the door on somebody else just isn’t fair. I don’t think that’s ethical. It’s his decision, but I don’t think it’s best for T.J. and the guys.”
The UFC champion also spoke out and said that even if he isn’t necessarily looking to fight his former mentor, the recent back and forth has led to him being more than willing to accept a fight against Faber if it was ever offered.
“You know, I didn’t think I would be until Urijah started saying the stuff he did,” Dillashaw said. “He’s the one saying he’s more than willing to fight me. I felt we were a lot closer friends than that, so I put my heart and soul into this team and I thought we were a lot closer than that. I mean, he’s obviously looking for a big fight in his career, and I think I’m…I don’t want to have to do it, but you know, if I’ll be the last statement on his career, if that’s the way it’s got to be, but that’s not really the way I want to do it.”
Dillashaw says he would take the fight and is “absolutely” confident he’d beat Faber, considering that the both of them know each other inside out.
Fans will still have to wait and see though, since Dillashaw and Faber both have scheduled fights coming up. Dillashaw defends his title against former champion Dominick Cruz in January, while Faber fights Frankie Saenz in December. Should both men win their fights, this could be a real money fight for the UFC and for both competitors as well.
“I don’t want to have to fight Urijah. It’s not something I want to do,” said Dillashaw. “I think of it from his corner. I’m the champion, I have the belt.”
Faber, a 36-year old former WEC champion, is in the twilight of his active career and came short on three attempts to win UFC gold over the last four years. As Dillashaw points out, a high profile title bout against his former teammate, could possibly be the one of the final highlights of his career.
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