Urijah Faber would like to fight T.J. Dillashaw down the line, but he isn’t making any promises.
Faber’s desire to return to mixed martial arts competition was no surprise. “The California Kid” never left the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool. Despite initially ending his career on a win in his home state and being inducted into the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Hall of Fame, the fire still burns within Faber.
Faber Unsure If He’ll Face Dillashaw In Return Run
While the history between Faber and Dillashaw would make for an intriguing buildup, Dillashaw is suspended for EPO use and won’t be back until 2021. By that time, Faber will be just four months shy of his 42nd birthday. During an appearance on ESPN’s Ariel Helwani MMA Show, Faber discussed possibly fighting Dillashaw (via BJPenn.com):
“I have to see how I feel. Where I feel right now, I feel pretty incredible. Who knows how I’ll feel at that time. I’ve always been kind of a late developer and someone who has always had good health. It’s all going to be about timing and me. Now, if he comes back it will be a year and a half so that is not that long. We will have to see how that pans out.
“One of the reasons and Dana (White) has talked about also and I’ve talked to Murilo Bustamante and some of the other guys. The guys that don’t cheat, the guys that don’t do EPO, and HGH, and micro-dosing, testosterone or whatever the hell the kids are doing these days have a better longevity, joints. Just (your) body intact. You are operating as your body is supposed to. For me, I think that is part of the reasons why I have been in the top my entire career, the top echelon. The top-ten, the top-two, the top-three, the top-one my entire career. So, I feel good. We will have to see at that point. When you think of big fights for me in the weight class, Kron was exciting because there is a lot of hype around him right now and the history of his family. But, there is no history like the T.J. Dillashaw history that’s for sure.”
Faber is scheduled to take on Ricky Simon at UFC Sacramento on July 13. It’ll be Faber’s first bout since Dec. 2016.
