After making a triumphant return last Saturday (July 13, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 155 in Sacramento, California by scoring a knockout win over Ricky Simon in under a minute (highlights), “The California Kid” is ready for bigger and better things.
Indeed, Faber took his time on the mic to challenge Henry Cejudo after the current champ-champ did the same following his historic win over Marlon Moraes a few months ago. But how likely is it that Uriah actually jumps to the front of the line?
Very likely.
“I would imagine it’s very likely. For me, when I left the sport, my fight before I retired I was ranked number two in the world. Then I lost a lackluster decision to basically ankle kicks and that put me at number six, I believe,” explained Faber during a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show.
“I left on a win against Brad Pickett who was a solid, solid fighter in the sport who has been in the top 10 in multiple divisions and beat guys like Demetrious Johnson. I have always been the caliber of fighter that can fight for world championships. So it really comes down to matchups,” he added while detailing how impressed he has been with Cejudo’s improvements over the years.
“He’s a pro, made this massive gains and his skill set and made little tweaks throughout time. He’s a champion of champions, gold medalist as young as he accomplished it and then coming in to be a two-division champion. That is a dream scenario for a guy like me to go test myself,” added Faber. “This is a chance for me to win a gold medal, a couple of belts and to wrap it all up.”
Still, when asked which would be a bigger fight between Cejudo or T.J. Dillashaw, Urijah picked “Viper.”
“I think Dillashaw is the bigger fight,” he said while explained he was never the one that kicked him out of Team Alpha Male (TAM). “I never kicked that guy off our team. He sat me, Chad Mendes and other guys down and told us he was getting paid to go somewhere else and that he’d still like to come in on occasions because he still had a house here.”
According to Uriah, his team has always had an open door policy as far as fighters branching out, but the way TJ went about it was different.
“Guys move all the time. Joseph leaves. Lance Palmer leaves, Paige VanZant. I mean this is the real world. it is what it is. Stop being a victim dude. We don’t feel sorry for you becasue you got caught cheating,” he said in reference to TJ’s recent USADA troubles.
“We don’t feel sorry for you because you got bought off for a different team, or that Conor called you a snake in the grass. Quit being a victim. He gained a lot during this time. He has money and everything else, but if you want to talk true storyline, that’s a big one.”
Of course, a fight between the two former teammates won’t happen for at least another year and a half, which is when TJ’s suspension is up. As for a title fight agaisnt Cejudo, that is also unlikely anytime soon as “The Messenger” won’t return to action until early 2020.
And when he does, this other top contender will be waiting at his doorstep.