Although not set in stone, it is looking like Urijah Faber may get the next crack at Dominick Cruz’s UFC title. According to Cody Garbrandt, the Team Alpha Male founder may not only look to complete their trilogy that’s almost a decade in the making, Faber is also planning a perfect ending to his career.
“If Urijah would be the champion I think he would beat Cruz in the next fight. We talked about it before, he’ll go out as champion, retire,” Garbradt said. “Urijah has done so much for the sport and been a world champion, he’s been the Featherweight king at the WEC – and people seem to forget Urijah ruled that era for a very long time, fought some of the best fighters. What else would he have to prove? You win the title and go out, storybook ending. Boom, done.”
“If he goes two and one against Cruz, wins a world title, he then goes on and lives his life,” he said. “He’s the California Kid, he does what he always does. He’s always in the gym. He’s got his other business endeavors. We’ve been talking about it, that would be the perfect storybook ending.”
“We talked about it. I mean, what else does he do? You beat Cruz, who just beat TJ for the title,” he said. “His fight with Cruz is a storybook ending. He’s had his career, being champion and then fighting back, losing the title, coming back, dropping a weight class, losing a close fight to the champion, another title fight, losing these close title fights and then coming back and then winning the last fight to win the title. That’s the story book ending.”
Garbrandt went on to reiterate that while he plans on gunning for the belt as well, Faber winning the title wouldn’t be an issue with him.
“So then the title would be up for grabs, but yeah, I don’t think I could ever fight Urijah. For sure, never. I would never want to, and I don’t think that would be a possibility,” he said. “He’s only got a few more fights left, maybe the one, maybe the Cruz fight.”
“So yeah, I hope that never had to come down to it. He’s given me so much in my life and helped out so much, with letting me on the team and just opened a bunch of doors for me. He knows that I would never want to fight him, world title or not. That’s where if something happened, I would really probably walk away probably, because I have so much respect for Urijah and just as a human being and a person that he is.”
The #3 ranked bantamweight in Faber is already 36-years-old, and has fought over 40 times since 2003. The former WEC champ ruled the lighter weight classes back when the UFC didn’t have the featherweight and bantamweight divisions, and he has stayed by the top of the rankings ever since.
Faber has long carried the lightweight classes, and while it is obviously easier said than done, finally winning that elusive UFC title would indeed be the cherry on top of an incredible career.
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