The “California Kid” Isn’t Done With MMA Just Yet!
It’s pretty much official that the former WEC featherweight champion and UFC legend Urijah Faber (34-10) will step back into the Octagon sometime soon. But, who against? We’re not entirely sure but in an interview with former UFC welterweight Dan Hardy, he did mention how Conor McGregor keeps pushing him to fight UFC star T.J. Dillashaw (16-4).
However, it’s a matchup that won’t happen anytime soon, after Dillashaw was suspended for two years after failing a drug test…
But Faber was asked why he’s back fighting now and his response was as below:
“First off, I’ve been itching to fight, like just people have been pissing me off throughout retirement a little bit just in different ways here and there. And the reason I retired in the first place was purely because I wanted to. I just felt like it”.
He explained that he had exhausted his title run and had lost two fights back to back for the first time ever in his career. But, his last fight came in his hometown of Sacramento, California when he defeated Brad Pickett and decided to retire.
Now, Faber didn’t quit because he thought he wasn’t good enough despite his lackluster performances but he stopped just because he wanted to. He just needed a break. But Urijah Faber believes he can still compete seeing today’s landscape, so he’s decided to do so as he still trains just as hard even out of retirement.
But he’s got a lot of motivation to fight again because it would help cement his legacy and the money would help with his other projects which include entertainment, real estate, and opening several gyms.
Faber explained how McGregor was a part of his decision to return…
“Conor McGregor and I talk on occasion. And he’s always clawing at me like ‘go get that snake, go get that weasel, jump out and surprise him now that he’s got caught cheating,’… you know how Conor is,” Faber said.
But, Faber talked about leading by example and teaching the other fighters in his camp to keep doing the little things that work. He explained that some fighters reach a certain level and they don’t want to do the grimy stuff that has worked before for them to get them there but it’s important…
“Leading by example is another thing that I think is a good reminder for these guys, ‘like look guys, I took a couple years off, never got out of shape, I’m going to come in, put a hard camp of focus like I’m saying that we should, and I’m going to get a big ‘W’ and sneak back in there”.
Fans will be excited to hear of Urijah Faber’s return to the octagon and we’re all hoping for an awesome matchup for the legend. But, as always we’ll keep you in the loop regarding any further updates on the fight.
