Conor McGregor formed unlikely friendship with Urijah Faber during Ultimate Fighter stint despite UF

Publish date: 2024-05-07

UFC superstar Conor McGregor struck up the most unlikely bromance with MMA legend Urijah Faber during their stint as opposing coaches on the Ultimate Fighter [TUF] in 2015.

The MMA reality show gives a group of fighters the chance to compete for a UFC contract, under the guidance of two established stars, who act as coaches.

In the aftermath of McGregor's interim featherweight title win in 2015 over Chad Mendes, he was signed up to coach alongside Faber in a unique season of the hit show that helped the UFC become the MMA powerhouse it is today.

The McGregor-Faber pairing was unique because the two men, unlike every other season of the show, would not be fighting each other at the end of it.

‘Notorious’ was waiting on his unification fight with long-time featherweight king Jose Aldo, which was to come in December, while Faber was coming off a loss to Frankie Edgar and basically out of the title picture.

Despite that, the pair had plenty of needle heading into the series and many expected they would be going at it like cat and dog, especially after their infamous clash before UFC 189.

McGregor was undertaking one of his brutal weight cuts down to 145lbs as he prepared to take on Faber’s Alpha Male teammate Mendes - where the winner would earn the fight with Aldo - when he bumped into ‘The California Kid’ backstage.

A weight-drained ‘Mystic Mac’ initially patted the much smaller man on the head before things seemingly turned nasty and the pair wrestled with each other in a bizarre exchange.

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The man who went on to become the biggest name in MMA history shrugged off the weird interaction and beat Faber’s teammate inside two rounds the following night to become a champion in the UFC for the first time.

When the two met again on the Ultimate Fighter set, they did share some hostile moments, as McGregor roasted Faber for his recent performances and the amount of money he’d made from fighting.

“I’ve made more money in this last fight [UFC 189] than your entire career. 100 per cent I have!

"I bring it in, and I take it as well. Your last fight bombed, and you lost,” he said.

Faber, though, fired back and accused McGregor of lacking fundamental MMA skills, and claiming he is only successful due to his size.

“I came up in weight just to fight you, I’m about 20 pounds smaller. It’s a good thing you’re a big guy and you’ve got a big punch, that’s about it.”

Any animosity between McGregor and Faber quickly subsided, as they began to enjoy each other’s company and share some friendly banter.

The first-ever dual-weight UFC champion was particularly interested in one part of Faber’s anatomy – his chin. McGregor often made ‘butt chin’ jokes at the expense of his fellow coach who always had a reply.

“You should walk around with a card and shake that f****** chin,” the Irishman quipped when Faber pointed out the absence of ring card girls.

McGregor and Faber’s newfound friendship was put to the test during the season when Alpha Male fighters TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt arrived to help the UFC bantamweight with his coaching duties.

As soon as he laid eyes on Dillashaw, McGregor labelled the two-time bantamweight champion a ‘snake’, starting an almighty row that led to Garbrandt trying to fight the UFC superstar.

The beef was quickly shut down and McGregor continued to create a bond with Faber before the series ended and both men went their separate ways.

After the Ultimate Fighter finale, Faber spoke with fondness about his new pal: "Yeah, I like Conor. Conor is a good guy. We had some good times in Vegas. Not that he can’t get on your nerves, but I enjoy his mindset. He’s a special guy.”

‘Notorious’ shared a similar sentiment later on after TUF 22 but as you’d expect he couldn’t resist taking a couple of pop shots at Faber.

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“It’s already friendly stuff, to be honest,” McGregor said.

“Urijah is harmless. He’s a harmless little man, he amuses me. He’s like an annoying little brother only he’s close to 50 years of age.”

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