Urijah Faber: Dana was pushing for me to fight McGregor

Urijah Faber says he was at the top of Dana White’s list to face Conor McGregor at UFC 196.

The moment the news about Rafael Dos Anjos’ inability to fight at UFC 196 broke, a few fighters from the UFC roster immediately came forward to step in as a replacement.

While top management did offer the fight to both Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar (which both men turned down), Urijah Faber and Donald Cerrone presented themselves through separate Instagram posts.

Evidently, none of them ended up getting the fight, as McGregor himself chose Nate Diaz among the shortlist of fighters. But apparently, Faber was the number one choice of UFC president Dana White to step in as Dos Anjos’ replacement.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, “The California Kid” revealed that he was the man White was “pushing for” to face McGregor in a lightweight fight.

“Dana called me and offered me the fight. He said I was who he is pushing for,” Faber said. “I accepted [but] Conor ended up wanting Diaz. I was ready. Lean at 158 [pounds].”

Like his teammate Chad Mendes who stepped in as Aldo’s replacement at UFC 189 last July, Faber would be taking the fight on barely two weeks’ notice.

He did admit to being at a huge disadvantage, given McGregor’s current shape as a welterweight, but wasn’t worried about it since he already had a game plan in mind.

“I would have been at a big disadvantage, but would have had to use speed and grappling,” Faber said. “[It would have been an] uphill battle, but I don’t care.”

Urijah Faber says he was at the top of Dana White’s list to face Conor McGregor at UFC 196.

The moment the news about Rafael Dos Anjos’ inability to fight at UFC 196 broke, a few fighters from the UFC roster immediately came forward to step in as a replacement.

While top management did offer the fight to both Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar (which both men turned down), Urijah Faber and Donald Cerrone presented themselves through separate Instagram posts.

Evidently, none of them ended up getting the fight, as McGregor himself chose Nate Diaz among the shortlist of fighters. But apparently, Faber was the number one choice of UFC president Dana White to step in as Dos Anjos’ replacement.

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, “The California Kid” revealed that he was the man White was “pushing for” to face McGregor in a lightweight fight.

“Dana called me and offered me the fight. He said I was who he is pushing for,” Faber said. “I accepted [but] Conor ended up wanting Diaz. I was ready. Lean at 158 [pounds].”

Like his teammate Chad Mendes who stepped in as Aldo’s replacement at UFC 189 last July, Faber would be taking the fight on barely two weeks’ notice.

He did admit to being at a huge disadvantage, given McGregor’s current shape as a welterweight, but wasn’t worried about it since he already had a game plan in mind.

“I would have been at a big disadvantage, but would have had to use speed and grappling,” Faber said. “[It would have been an] uphill battle, but I don’t care.”