LOS ANGELES — Add Urijah Faber to the list of fighters who don’t like Bryan Caraway.
The former WEC featherweight champion thought he had a main event fight lined up with Miesha Tate’s boyfriend at the TUF 22 Finale in Las Vegas on Dec. 11. But according to Faber, the brash Caraway backed out of the fight.
“We did have someone that backed out of the fight, for whatever reason,” Faber said Wednesday. “We were supposed to actually headline, it was supposed to be Caraway and I headlining the TUF Finale and he didn’t take the fight.”
While not outright questioning Caraway’s courage, Faber went out of his way to note that Caraway’s last fight, at UFC on FOX 16, was against Eddie Wineland, who had contemplated retirement after a broken jaw before accepting the fight; and he’s now angling for a matchup with Michael McDonald, who has been out for nearly two years since losing to Faber at UFC on FOX 9.
“He brought Eddie Wineland out of retirement who had broken his jaw and decided he was done fighting, and Caraway calls him out,” Faber said. “Now he’s calling out Michael McDonald, who we haven’t seen since he vanished like a fart in the wind after our fight. So, you know, if you want to step up, let’s do it. So yeah, he didn’t take the fight.”
Instead, Faber will fight Frankie Saenz at UFC 194, who’s 3-0 in the UFC bantamweight division, but will be stepping into, by far, his biggest career spotlight. Faber said he’s not concerned with the disparity in name recognition.
“This guy stepped up and I appreciate that,” Faber said. “For me, I treat everyone like an equal. Whether they’re a fighter or someone on the street, whatever it is. I’m going to take it seriously.”