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Uriah Faber explains why he’d prefer to fight Henry Cejudo rather than T.J. Dillashaw.
Uriah Faber has expressed interested in a fight with former teammate turned rival T.J. Dillashaw in the past but, having had some time to think about it, ‘The California Kid’ would prefer to fight UFC two-division champ Henry Cejudo instead.
Speaking on a recent edition of MMA Fighting’s A-Side Live Chat Faber, the former WEC featherweight champ, said he wouldn’t trust Dillashaw to fight clean.
“I really don’t want to fight T.J. I mean, I really don’t,” Faber said, per Mike Drahota of MMA News. “Especially, the odds are in his favor. He’s like a scientist when it comes to what he puts in his body. And I know that. Whatever he’s been doing, I’ve heard about it for years and I’ve never really delved into it. He’s also younger than me and he’s been training his butt off.”
Dillashaw, 33, is currently serving a two-year suspension after testing positive for the injectable-only performance-enhancing drug, EPO, in relation to his flyweight title bout with Cejudo at UFC Fight Night 143. Dillashaw, who lost the bout via first-round knockout, is eligible to return to the Octagon no earlier than Jan. 19, 2021.
Speaking of Cejudo, an Olympic gold medallist, Faber said he would love to test himself against one of promotion’s most decorated athletes.
“But I love a good fight,” Urijah Faber continued. “And the grit and the intensity and the focus is good on that one. But I’d rather test myself with the best. He’s done so while being clean as well, and it’s an opportunity for two legends of MMA to face one another:
“A guy that’s fair, a guy that’s accomplished a lot in the sport. No one has actually done what Henry’s ever done. He’s the youngest guy from America to get the gold medal. He beat some of the best fighters ever in Demetrious Johnson and TJ Dillashaw. He also has a win against Joseph Benavidez, who, in my opinion, is an uncrowned champion. Henry’s beat some very tough guys, and what an opportunity to go test yourself against a historic dude.
“And vice versa; that’s why he called me out.”
Faber, who temporarily retired in 2016, returned to the Octagon earlier this month against bantamweight prospect Ricky Simon, finishing the 26-year-old in the first round of the UFC Fight Night 155 co-main event in Sacramento, California. With the win, Faber, 40, broke into the UFC’s official top-fifteen bantamweight rankings.