In the world of mixed martial arts, you have to expect the worst of the worst. You’re not always going to face the original opponent you were supposed to face. When it comes to fighting for a world title though and that happens, you may not get that opportunity. For Urijah Faber, he is still going to get that chance.
UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz and Faber were supposed to square off at UFC 148 on July 7. That was until Cruz tore his ACL in training about two weeks ago. Faber was bummed about the news, but knows he has to stay focused.
“You can only imagine I was pretty upset,” Faber told me. “Nothing you can do about that. I can’t really dwell on things you can’t control, so I was for a little bit. Nothing that’s going to affect me in the long run.”
The UFC announced on Wednesday that Faber’s opponent for the interim title at UFC 148 will be announced tonight on TUF:Live.
A lot of rumors have been floating around that Faber’s opponent will be either Michael McDonald, Renan Barao or Ivan Menjivar. Who is Faber more impressed with out of the three?
“I’m impressed with all of those guys,” Faber said. “I’ve known McDonald for a long time. I just recently started watching Barao, and he’s really impressive. Menjivar and I have unfinished business as well. We’ll prolly fight eventually as well. It was a disqualification in our first fight. All three of these guys would be good.”
At the end of the day, Faber doesn’t care who the UFC chooses as his opponent at UFC 148.
“I don’t care, you know,” Faber said. “I’m gonna probably fight all the guys. Whoever they (UFC) think. I think if you look at the rankings, take the guys in the Top 5 and pick one of them. I don’t care.”
You can listen to the complete interview with Urijah Faber here.
You can follow me on Twitter @fightclubchi.
is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand through an interview with Urijah Faber.
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