UFC bantamweights and Team Alpha Male fighters T.J. Dillashaw and Urijah Faber would face off with the 135-pound strap on the line.
UFC president Dana White explained Wednesday on UFC Tonight that, “Those guys have made it very clear that they will fight each other. We’ll see what happens.”
Teammate-against-teammate fights have been brought up numerous times among some of the best mixed martial arts gyms, but making them happen is no easy task. Both Dillashaw and Faber have said that the UFC would need to make it worth their while when the time comes.
That time has come sooner than expected. Due to injuries suffered by Dominick Cruz and Raphael Assuncao, former bantamweight champion Renan Barao will be awarded the next title shot by White and rematch Dillashaw for the title.
There’s nothing currently on the table for Faber. Most recently, The California Kid choked out top-15 bantamweight Francisco Rivera at UFC 181 but not without controversy.
An eye poke that went unnoticed in the middle of the second round of the pair’s fight has caused Rivera to file an appeal with the Nevada Athletic Commission, which will be reviewed on Monday.
A potential rematch might be on the table for Rivera and Faber. Regardless of whomever White puts in front of him, should Faber win, a matchup with Dillashaw isn’t out of the question.
The former WEC featherweight champion had three cracks at the 135-pound belt in the UFC but came up short in attempts against Barao and Team Alpha Male nemesis Cruz. Faber has also gone undefeated in non-title bouts for his entire MMA career. Dillashaw is his ticket to a coveted fourth shot at UFC gold.
A Dillashaw title defense against Faber is something that White wouldn’t mind seeing.
“That’s not the plan right now here today, but it’s definitely a fight I’d like to see,” White mentioned on UFC Tonight.
Even teammate and perennial featherweight contender Chad Mendes appears confident that the pair could put aside their personal relationship. It wouldn’t be a fight filled with bad blood, but the UFC could definitely find a way to come up with an exciting promo for this teacher-against-mentor meeting.
Over the years, camps like the American Kickboxing Academy and American Top Team have produced multiple contenders in the same weight class. White’s plans for a Josh Koscheck-Jon Fitch fight went unanswered, and now it appears the same thing will happen to a potential Hector Lombard-Tyron Woodley meeting.
We also saw the path to a title shot for Tristar gym’s Rory MacDonald open up when teammate and former longtime 170-pound champion Georges St-Pierre vacated his title. MacDonald had said in November that he would move up to 185 pounds and “never stab him in the back.”
Longtime friends and AKA training partners Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier have vowed never to fight each other, which is part of the reason the latter dropped down a weight class.
Others, like Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson, in the past have welcomed a potential friendly rivalry. However, as Levi Nile of Bleacher Report put it, “Being defeated (perhaps brutally and embarrassingly) by a teammate would drastically alter the mood in camp after the bout.”
A fight between Dillashaw and Faber would allow the latter another chance, perhaps his last at 35 years old, to earn that coveted UFC title. It would also answer questions as to who the better Team Alpha Male wrestler or striker is.
If both men can treat it as a lighthearted and competitive test, as opposed to an opportunity to pound leather into someone’s face, then maybe this proposed bout can happen. Faber and Dillashaw, at least, have left the door open.
Getting someone ready for a fight and actually stepping into the Octagon for an opportunity to beat them are two entirely different things to wrap your head around.
One risks life and limb when you step into the cage, so it’s fair to see why it’s difficult for a fighter to separate themselves emotionally from someone they may cause injury.
At the same time, it’s something one should prepare for when entering a sport in which everyone is constantly evolving. Fighters are also businessmen, and with talks of the UFC and their questionable pay practices front and center, they need to look out for a bout that will be the most lucrative.
If Dillashaw and Faber both win their next fight, all the speculation would become a reality. But then again, maybe Assuncao, who will have had months to heal his broken ankle, would have something to say about that.
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