Dana White does not understand the need for Urijah Faber to continue fighting after suffering a KO loss to Petr Yan at UFC 245.
Earlier this year, Urijah Faber made a successful return to the Octagon when he defeated Ricky Simon via TKO at UFC Fight Night 155 and then shot his shot, calling out Henry Cejudo for a bantamweight title fight. UFC President Dana White then gave Faber an opportunity to earn that shot by facing Petr Yan. Unfortunately for Faber, that fight would conclude with him now being the one on the wrong end of the KO. When asked what is next for Faber, White began by delivering some truths for Faber, both positive and harsh.
“Urijah looked good tonight,” White said in the UFC 245 post-fight press conference. “Urijah doesn’t want to hear that he’s old, but, unfortunately, Urijah, you’re old, OK? And he looked amazing in his last fight, comes out and beats a guy that most people probably didn’t think he was gonna beat, and he looked damn good tonight until Yan started catching him and lighting him up. And Faber’s tough, he’s durable, he’s well-rounded, he’s a good fighter.”
It as this point when Dana would wonder aloud or perhaps address Faber himself about what would be the point in continuing to fight at this stage of his career, regardless of whether or not he’s physically capable of doing so:
“I don’t think anyone in this room would disagree with me if I said, ‘He could fight again,” White said. “We could put him in with somebody else.’ He’s not in here fighting bums. He’s fighting the best guys in the world. But the question becomes, why? Why?
“You’re a legend. You’ve done it all. You’re 40 years old. And you’ve done everything that you can achieve. He makes money. He’s got a gym. He’s got other business going on. He’s got a beautiful family. Why?
“And that’s something he needs to talk about with his wife and other people who care about him.”
Do you believe Urijah Faber should retire (again) after his loss to Petr Yan at UFC 245?
