Urijah Faber: I would have fought Conor McGregor backstage – if the beef was real

Producers will play up any animosity between Urijah Faber and Conor McGregor this season on “The Ultimate Fighter 22,” but Faber said their grudge is mostly for the camera.

“I speak my mind, I love to fight, he speaks his mind, he loves to fight, and we don’t take crap,” Faber (32-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC), who next faces Frankie Saenz (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 194, said during a recent media day. “So that’s where things get heated up. But as a person, he’s a decent dude when he’s being real.”

Fans questioned whether there was really any bad blood shortly after a video of a backstage confrontation between them was promoted by the UFC before they were announced as opposing coaches on the long-running reality show. Faber said the run-in couldn’t be serious given how it played out.

“Things get blown out of proportion,” he said. “If we really had a real beef, there would have been punches thrown by him – not just me slamming him against the wall. It was kind of just what it was. It was weird.”

Their interaction wasn’t all that exceptional on the first episode of “TUF 22.” Faber said there were moments during the season where he got into it with McGregor (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), but the biggest point of contention was whether or not they could fight. To that, he said the popular Irish fighter was ready to go, but his previous booking against champ Jose Aldo (25-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in UFC 194’s headliner nixed the idea.

So weird and all, Faber and McGregor will move along as the reality show season unfolds and the two head toward different fights. Check out the above video to get Faber’s thoughts on his supposed rivalry with McGregor.

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

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