Urijah Faber mulling UFC comeback, was offered two fights last year

BLoodyelbow.com

Former WEC champion and longtime UFC contender Urijah Faber is a father now, and he’s still competing at a high level. The head of Team Alpha Male faces 17-year-old grappling phenom Nicky Ryan in a grappling match at Polaris 8 in May. And he’s considering a return to the UFC.

As a guest on The MMA Show on ESPN today, he revealed his interest in a return:

“With the baby in my life, and with the rejuvenation of my body, and seeing why I stood out for so long, it’s just really, really tempting,” said Faber. “And I’m going to take this time to prepare for this May 25 matchup with one of the best jiu-jitsu players on the planet, to get my body into shape. And I’m going to continue with that and get my body back into [being] a weapon and look for an opportunity to possibly step in if there’s something that makes sense.”

He also dropped an interesting tidbit – that the UFC offered him two fights in 2018, both on short notice, against big-name featherweights in Cub Swanson and Chan Sung Jung. But obviously he didn’t take the opportunities:

“I was just so tempted to hop in there because I’ve been feeling great in practice,” he said. “I actually feel like the rest has been a rejuvenating rest. My body feels amazing. My head feels clear. But I don’t like to be doing things on a whim.”

A bout with former protege T.J. Dillashaw would draw great interest from UFC fans (and apparently Conor McGregor) but with Dillashaw apparently suspended for a year, that doesn’t seem likely. We’ll have to see if the 39-year-old Faber (34-10, 10-6 UFC) actually does get back in there, but there are plenty of other interesting options if he does.