Urijah Faber: "I'm not gonna retire"

[chunglii]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/6/2...-not-retiring-in-search-of-interesting-fights

"No, I'm not gonna retire," Faber told MMA Fighting on Friday at an appearance at CrossFit South Bay. "[Joe] Rogan asked me the hard questions and I do this to be the best. I feel like [at age] 37 [was] one of the best training camps I've had, period. It was amazing."

"I know I'm right there at the top," Faber said. "I don't know what's next necessarily. I'm gonna chill for a bit. But I'm definitely not done done."

After a break, Faber said he'll come back in search of "interesting" fights. That probably does not mean an encounter with former training partner and protégé T.J. Dillashaw, though. The ex-Team Alpha Male fighter takes on Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas. Win or lose, Dillashaw vs. Faber is a fight that has some heat behind it. But Faber doesn't seem to be too intrigued at the moment.

"I'm not necessarily itching for that fight," Faber said. "That's just a bad feeling altogether when I think about that. It makes me more sad than anything. It's not like I'm angry about anything. It's just kind of weird."

Moving back up to featherweight, where Faber once held the WEC title, is a consideration, too. But the new earlier weigh-in procedure spreading throughout the country has Faber not minding bantamweight much.

"With the way they're doing the weigh-in, it wasn't half as bad," Faber said. "But I don't know. I always like to do fights that are interesting. Going up to fight Frankie Edgar, headliner, the first one in the Philippines [last year], that was interesting to me. He's a Hall of Famer, he's a world champion at multiple weights, he's a contender. I like that. I like fighting Dominick Cruz for the world championship, a trilogy. I've done a lot of fights [just] to do them. And I'll do that as well. But I like to try and find stuff that's interesting. Fighting in Sacramento in a new arena, that excites me."

Where does Faber go from here?

 

[CrimsonFan]

He should drop down to 125 and lose 3 more title fights


Just to make sure his record is secure

 

[BigTruck]

Not surprised as he makes like $200,000 + a fight...... motherfuckers.

 

[NightwingBJJ]

Really? Either 145lbs, Fun Fights or porn.

 

[mjmj]

He’s an enigma. He’s obviously still one of the best in that class, but there really aren’t many interesting fights for him.

 

[Arm Barbarian]

Cali Kid can still beat the brakes off of most of the top 10, so he still has a couple of money fights left if the fire still resides in him.

 

[Luger]

Faber vs a snake in the grass

 

[TheRassler]

BJ Penn

 

[Goatenstein]

Fuck it bring in Tyson Griffin for the rematch. Faber cried forever after that fight.

 

[AceCooch]

He ought to drop that insane muscle mass and go to 125 since he's only like 5'4 or whatever

Since he doesn't seem willing to do that he could clock in a paycheck by beating around some top 10-15s over the next couple years, but he has no chance at a belt at 135 or 45

 

[ortizgnp]

Faber the type of guy who will go through an identity crisis when he's done fighting.

 

[linvillegorge]

He makes good money and he's still a top fighter, so I don't blame him for not retiring. But at this point, it's abundantly clear that he'll never wear a UFC belt.

 

[AKA_Steve_B]

Everyone wants to see him fight Dillybar , make it happen Urijah....
We all know Dana will give you whatever matchup you ask for...

 

[Hardkore]

BJ Penn

I would hate to see that, I like both fighters.

 

[The_Renaissance]

I don't know what else he can do, now.

I would say he sticks around and fights other veterans of the division in 'prelims main event' type fights and makes some decent cash for a while....but he's fought most of them, already. If not all of them.

He could be used as a litmus test for surging prospects but he has the experience and ability to beat any of them and therefore derail a potential title-contender/PPV headliner.

The only thing he can hope for really is Assuncao beating TJ so they can market the grudge-match, possibly have them coach on TUF to build the hype/animosity.

 

[dickcheney]

He's not spent and still exciting for the most part... Just give him the intercontinental title and call it a day

 

[Hardkore]

He ought to drop that insane muscle mass and go to 125 since he's only like 5'4 or whatever

Since he doesn't seem willing to do that he could clock in a paycheck by beating around some top 10-15s over the next couple years, but he has no chance at a belt at 135 or 45

I don't think it's that at all, he's reached the apex of his skill set and has stopped evolving. Faber himself said he's not the most gifted fighter, but he compensates for that by outworking other fighters

 

[Hardkore]

Faber the type of guy who will go through an identity crisis when he's done fighting.

I disagree. He's mentally strong and he's secure in himself.

 

[ortizgnp]

I disagree. He's mentally strong and he's secure in himself.

Can you see him doing anything other than fighting?

 

[Hardkore]

Really? Either 145lbs, Fun Fights or porn.

He can't hang at 145 anymore, he's too small.