Urijah Faber: ‘Conor winning is f-cking good for the sport’

Urijah Faber has stood across the UFC’s octagon from featherweight champ Jose Aldo. He’s also stood opposite interim champ Conor McGregor, though they weren’t wearing gloves, and the only officiant was a camera.

Five years ago in the now-defunct WEC, Aldo kicked Faber in the leg until it turned gruesome shades of purple on the way to defending his title. Very recently, McGregor coached opposite Faber on “The Ultimate Fighter 22” and, after several arguments left perhaps a few verbal bruises.

Although his history with the two fighters is different, it’s hard for Faber to pick a winner when Aldo and McGregor meet in a title unifier at UFC 194 in Las Vegas.

“It’s up in the air for me,” the ex-WEC champ and “TUF” coach told MMAjunkie Radio.

Asked about the matchup, Faber (32-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC), who next faces Frankie Saenz (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on the Dec. 12 event’s pay-per-view main card, referred first to his relationship with the champions. “Aldo’s a very, very talented fighter and a humble guy and a guy that deserves everything he gets,” he said. “Conor’s kind of the opposite. He’s not a humble guy, but he’s a good guy and he deserves everything he gets. I would say I have a good relationship with both guys.”

But Faber isn’t at all ambivalent about what a win for either signifies in the grand scheme of things.

“Conor winning is f-cking good for the sport,” he bluntly put it.

It’s for that reason that Faber would’ve liked to have stand across from McGregor at the conclusion of “TUF 22” had other factors not intervened. McGregor generated 1 million pay-per-view buys for July’s UFC 189, making him one of the UFC’s top-grossing stars.

Unfortunately for “The California Kid,” McGregor already was booked to face Aldo, who agreed to UFC 194 after being forced to withdraw from UFC 189 due to a rib injury.

The Dec. 12 pay-per-view event is expected to generate another huge number, but it’s success could also be measured in the purses his future opponents can fetch.

“People f-cking love that guy, so I think the big money fights would be with him as champion,” Faber said. “So (a McGregor win) makes a lot of sense. But I really like Jose Aldo. It’s kind of a win-win for me.”

As Faber points out, it’s not just money that makes McGregor more attractive as a champion. It’s also because of what happened when he met Faber’s longtime teammate, Chad Mendes, who stepped in for the injured Aldo at UFC 189.

“Who’s the easier fight for some of my guys? I’ve gotta say Conor is,” Faber said. “Aldo’s really, really well-versed with takedown defense. You saw Chad (Mendes) was able to take down Conor at will. So having Conor win is a good thing for the wrestlers in the division and the sport in general. And Jose Aldo is a legend.”

Now that Faber has returned to the bantamweight division, with a fight against Frankie Saenz set for UFC 194’s main card, he doesn’t particularly have to worry about his place at 145 pounds. A rivalry is blossoming with his former student and teammate, bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw, so a title fight could be on the way if he continues to find success at 135 pounds.

If McGregor becomes the undisputed featherweight champion, however, it leaves open more options for his career as he looks to cement his legacy with a UFC title that’s so far eluded him.

Showing respect to Aldo and McGregor might be polite, but from the sound of it, Faber already has chosen his desired winner.

For more on UFC 194, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.