Following Cody Garbrandt’s loss to his former Team Alpha Male teammate T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 217, Urijah Faber was candidly asked whether he’d come out retirement to fight Dillashaw, if called out by the new bantamweight champion. Faber explained that if the fight was for a big enough paycheck, he’d consider it.
Of course his answer set the internet on fire with speculation, but Urijah clarified his comments to MMAfighting.com shortly afterward.
“I was in a Metro PCS Q&A and someone was asking me, ‘What would it take to bring you out of retirement?’ I said, ‘The biggest dollars,’ and a girl said, ‘If T.J. calls you out after this fight, would that bring you out of retirement?’ And I just said, ‘That sounds like fun,’” Urijah Faber told Ariel Helwani in an interview earlier.
“The California Kid” isn’t sure if the fans want to see him fight T.J. Dillashaw, and while he’s not opposed to it Faber believes that Cody Garbrandt is the one to carry the torch as UFC bantamweight champion.
“It’s unbeknownst to me if anyone’s asking for that, calling for that, or offering that. I haven’t heard it. I would have to consider that if they came and talked to me. There’s one thing I know for sure is, I’m not afraid of a good fight and I enjoy it and I like making money. But I would hate for that to be the focus rather than Cody getting back in there and getting his shot to redeem himself, because he’s been the guy who’s been there on the front lines. He’s been the guy who’s been putting in the time to be the world champion right now, and I’ve retired.”
