TUF 17 Finale's Jorgensen ready to 'beat the hell out of' friend Faber

Here’s how Scott Jorgensen knows he’s marrying a woman who’s a keeper: After learning her boyfriend had been tapped to fight Urijah Faber in The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale’s main event, she demanded Jorgensen cancel their vacation to Hawaii so he didn’t have to skip training and media commitments.

Little did she know that Jorgensen planned to propose to her during their vacation, which included a private beach house and a week of relaxation in paradise.

She said, ‘No, cancel it. You need to get ready,’” he told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

Jorgensen, who took her advice and dropped by the MMAjunkie.com Radio studio as part of the initial media push, said he took a financial hit by canceling the vacation. Despite travel insurance, only half of his airfare was refunded. Everything else was nonrefundable.

But Jorgensen said that’s the price you pay when you’re in the title hunt. This past month, when injured flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was forced out of a title with John Moraga, UFC officials tapped Faber (27-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) vs. Jorgensen (14-6 MMA, 3-2 UFC) as the new TUF 17 Finale headliner. The event takes place April 13 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

While in Sin City this past week to publicize the FX-televised event, Jorgensen stayed at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. His girlfriend came to visit, and though it wasn’t exactly what he planned, he popped the question anyway. The Bellagio Fountains danced in the background, and Jorgensen embraced his new fiancee.

“But then she left the next day,” he said. “I traded her in for my jiu-jitsu coach.”

Such is the life of a main-event fighter with a shortened training camp.

As most fans know, Faber and Jorgensen are friends. In fact, when UFC officials first pitched Jorgensen the idea of the fight, he immediately sent a text message to Faber.

“So, what’s up, buddy?” it read.

Faber called him, and they discussed the bout, the odd timing, the shortened camp. But they never really discussed the possibility of them turning down the fight. He said wrestlers aren’t built that way.

“We are close,” Jorgensen said. “Urijah is one of the guys who urged me to start fighting back when I was finishing up my college career at Boise State. We have the same management. My son is a big fan of his. He knows my family. I know his family. So it as a little weird seeing how we’re still close, but it doesn’t matter. We’re still going to go out there and beat the hell out of each other and win ‘Fight of the Night’ and show why two friends can fight and put on a show as part of the business.

“We always knew this day would probably come. And we always wanted it to be for a title fight, something that was big. We’re headlining an event, a TUF Finale, and it’s going to be a huge event. It’s going to be exciting for the fans. It’s on FX. So we both accepted our fates.”

Jorgensen recently snapped a two-fight skid, which included a decision loss to now-interim champ Renan Barao and a “Fight of the Night” loss to Eddie Wineland. At UFC on FOX 5, the former WEC title challenger scored “Submission of the Night” and “Fight of the Night” bonuses in a rousing victory over John Albert.

He can maintain the momentum and move up the bantamweight ladder with a win over Faber, one of MMA’s most recognizable names. He said that’s precisely why he didn’t turn the fight, even if it meant fighting a friend.

“We’re wrestlers,” he said. “You grow up competing against your friends, and there’s only one winner in wrestling just like there is now (in MMA). You don’t have a team to rely on. If your buddy is at the same weight, what are you going to do, forfeit a finals match because he’s your friend? No, you’re going to go out there and wrestle. It’s the same thing here.”

For more on The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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