UFC 194’s Urijah Faber expects title shot, says Dillashaw was overaggressive in gym

LAS VEGAS – Perennial UFC title challenger Urijah Faber thinks a showdown with his ex-teammate and current bantamweight champ, T.J. Dillashaw, hovers in the background of a fight Saturday with Frankie Saenz at UFC 194.

It’s a bout that appears to bring together two fighters who know everything about each other, but Faber said that’s not the case.

“I’ve got footage of us sparring, hours and hours and hours, and it’s not the same,” said Faber, who headlines the FOX Sports 1-televised preliminary card of Saturday’s pay-per-view event at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. “He knows that about me. I think I’ve seen him go just as intense in practice, but not necessarily against me, because it would be a bit disrespectful to do some of the stuff he’s done in the past.”

Faber (32-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC), a heavy favorite over Saenz (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at this weekend’s event, claims Dillashaw (12-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) had issues controlling himself at Team Alpha Male, the Sacramento, Calif., gym he founded and that the UFC champ departed after a public falling out.

“It was something we had to harness with him is his temper,” Faber said. “He would apologize for it, and he’d talk about it. It was a real issue. I’ve talked to other people, and they said he would have been kicked out of the gym earlier because of that. But I always defended the guy a bunch.”

A verbal sparring match between Faber and former Team Alpha Male coach Duane Ludwig changed things. Dillashaw departed to work with Ludwig and the Denver-based Elevation Fight Team, which offered a paid stipend for training. Faber subsequently banned Dillashaw from Team Alpha Male but stressed the two aren’t mortal enemies.

Potential opponents? That’s another story. And with Faber thinking more about bowing out gracefully from the sport, a title fight with some heat is just what he needs to keep going.

Dillashaw fights ex-champ Dominick Cruz (20-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who was stripped of the belt after multiple injuries sidelined him, in a headliner at UFC Fight Night 81 on Jan. 17 in Boston.

For Faber, who also has a contentious history with two-time opponent Cruz, it makes sense for him to meet the winner of that bout.

“Everybody wants to see a fight between me and T.J., and me and Cruz,” he said. “But I have a big task in front of me right now. That’s Frankie.”

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