Climbing off the fence.
Urijah Faber’s three months of pure, unadulterated Conor McGregor has softened his opinion on the Irishman.
Faber and McGregor, who have been coaching rival teams in The Ultimate Fighter 22, have struck up an interesting relationship since they first got to grips with each other back in July [ahead of UFC 189].
It has been mostly good-natured sparring but both men have discovered what buttons they can press to get a reaction.
Ahead of UFC 194, Faber was asked who he would prefer to win the UFC featherweight title unification bout between Jose Aldo and McGregor.
He told MMA Junkie Radio, “Aldo’s a very, very talented fighter and a humble guy and a guy that deserves everything he gets. Conor’s kind of the opposite. He’s not a humble guy, but he’s a good guy and he deserves everything he gets. I have a good relationship with both guys.
“But what’s better for the sport? Conor winning is f***ing good for the sport.”
Faber continued, “People f***ing love that guy, so I think the big money fights would be with him as champion. So that makes a lot of sense.”
However, McGregor falling to the Brazilian on December 5 would hardly bring Faber’s world crashing down.
“I really like Aldo,” he said, “so it’s kind of a win-win for me.”
