Urijah Faber on Caraway's questionable callouts, wanting McGregor and retirement

Urijah Faber has been around the block once or twice and he’s not falling for the way Bryan Caraway is approaching his career.

Faber (32-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) says that he and Caraway (20-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) had the opportunity to serve as headliners for the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 22. Caraway wanted nothing to do with the fight, according to Faber, and the headline spot for that card is now filled by a highly anticipated bout between Frankie Edgar (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) and Chad Mendes (17-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC).

“I heard that it was supposed to be Caraway and I headlining the TUF Finale and he didn’t take the fight,” Faber told MMAjunkie. “He brought Eddie Wineland out of retirement after he broke his jaw and decided he was done fighting. Caraway calls him out. Now he’s calling out Michael MacDonald who we haven’t seen since he vanished like a fart in the wind after our fight (at UFC on FOX 9 in Dec. 2013). If you want to step up, let’s do it. He didn’t take the fight.”

Faber is now slated to face Frankie Saenz (11-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC 194, which takes place at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena on Dec. 12.

He believes his career is winding down, telling MMAjunkie, “I’m not going to be doing this sport a lot longer, to be honest.”

However, he still says he’s ready for another crack at a UFC title, even if he doesn’t believe that’s necessary for him to feel his career is complete. Faber, currently ranked No. 5 in the NOS Energy Drink MMA bantamweight rankings, is 0-3 in UFC title fights.

“I’m ready and poised to step in and fight for a title at any point in my career,” Faber said. “I always have been. (The UFC official rankings) have me ranked fourth at 135, but that’s because Assuncao has a win over T.J. (Dillashaw) who is the current champion and my teammate. So it’s an interesting dynamic there. My last fight against Barao was not – in my opinion the fight should not have been over. I took that on two weeks notice, also, just to fill a spot. I’m right there for the 135-pound title.”

While Faber is content to close out his career at bantamweight, he would return to featherweight for a crack at the newest UFC superstar, interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor (18-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC).

Faber and McGregor are opposing coaches on the current season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and made news ahead of McGregor’s interim title win at UFC 189 when they engaged in a brief scuffle.

“Honestly, the best matchup for me would be Conor because he’s a bigger, slower guy,” Faber said. “And he’s susceptible to submissions and grappling. Like I said, that’s my bread and butter on top of being a guy who can strike and be durable and be fast and creative. That’s a fight also that I’d like. At 145 that’s the only fight I would do. At 135, I’m just poised and ready.”

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