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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
"You know, I didn't think I would be until Urijah started saying the stuff he did. He's the one saying he's more than willing to fight me. I felt we were a lot closer friends than that, so I put my heart and soul into this team and I thought we were a lot closer than that. I mean, he's obviously looking for a big fight in his career, and I think I'm…I don't want to have to do it, but you know, if I'll be the last statement on his career, if that's the way it's got to be, but that's not really the way I want to do it... There's definitely a relationship with the guys, even with Urijah. I don't want to have to fight Urijah. It's not something I want to do. I think of it from his corner. I'm the champion, I have the belt."
-After previously expressing no interest in a fight with Urijah Faber, UFC Bantamweight Champ T.J. Dillashaw now says he'd be open to the matchup given Faber's comments on his split from Team Alpha Male last week (via The MMA Hour).
Penick's Analysis: Well, both sides are there mentally. Dillashaw also commented that he "absolutely" is confident he can beat Faber, and added that he's been essentially banned from Team Alpha Male entirely. It seems a Faber-Dillashaw bout in 2016 may not be far fetched. It's easy to see the UFC booking Faber in another title fight for this storyline if Dillashaw beats Dominick Cruz and Faber defeats Frankie Saenz in December. There are other more deserving options at bantamweight, but as far as the story they can sell, and how well that fight is likely to perform, Dillashaw-Faber's going to get serious consideration if they both win their next fights. In some respects it's similar to the rift that came between Jon Jones and Rashad Evans, expect in this case it was the established fighter initially expressing interest and willingness in the fight rather than the young talent.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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