Manager On TJ Dillashaw vs. Urijah Faber: They’re Brothers

A serious injury turned the MMA world on its head once again yesterday (Mon., December 22, 2014) when news broke that former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz had torn his right ACL and would no longer be able to face current champ TJ Dillashaw.

Cruz, who only recently returned to the Octagon in September after nearly three years off dealing with complications from a torn left ACL, was dealt another unfortunate blow that will steal more of his athletic prime and leaves his fighting future in serious doubt.

But as the story goes in MMA, the show must go on, and Dillashaw needs an opponent for when he returns from elbow surgery around May or June. The next logical contender was No. 4-ranked Raphael Assuncao, the last man to defeat Dillashaw.

Assuncao was devastated by another wasted opportunity; however, as he tweeted that he could not accept the fight due to a broken ankle. So the contendership was left up to Renan Barao, whom Dillashaw beat for the title at UFC 173, and Urijah Faber, Dillashaw’s training partner, teammate, and good friend.

While both Dillashaw and Faber have publicly expressed their desire to avoid fighting one another, “The Viper” did proclaim that he would face “The California Kid if a ton of cash were on the line.

The Team Alpha Male standouts’ manager Mike Roberts spoke up to MMA Junkie to give his assessment of the situation. Roberts believes that Barao, who got back into the win column by submitting Mitch Gagnon at this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night 58, is the only logical next step for Dillashaw:

“We would assume we’re probably fighting Barao, but ultimately the UFC is going to call and ask for something.”

Indeed they will, and although Barao vs. Dillashaw II has sort of seemed like a foregone conclusion ever since Dillashaw shocked “The Baron” last May, it lost a considerable amount of its luster when Barao failed to make weight the first time the rematch was scheduled for UFC 177.

Injuries have obviously left the UFC with little choice, but Roberts believes a fight between Dillashaw and Faber would be “highly unlikely”:

“They’re brothers. I’ll never say never, but I would find that to be highly unlikely.”

It’s looking more and more like the next 135-pound title fight will come down to a Dillashaw vs. Barao rematch mainly out of necessity, if nothing else. Yet a title fight with Faber could be absolutely huge.

Which bout do you want to see more?