T.J. Dillashaw responds to Urijah Faber’s ‘hilarious’ callout: ‘It sounds like the easiest payday ever’

It didn’t end well for Team Alpha Male last weekend at UFC 217 when rival T.J. Dillashaw put an end to Cody Garbrandt via second-round knockout to claim the UFC bantamweight title.

With so much bad blood between the two top-flight fighters, it’s almost a certainty that Dillashaw and Garbrandt will meet again inside of the Octagon. But until that day comes, Dillashaw may have to worry about another familiar face.

Urijah Faber, coach of Team Alpha Male and former Dillashaw teammate, recently expressed interest in coming out of retirement to fight his former pupil and exact revenge for his California outpost. While Faber is one of the best bantamweight fighters to ever compete under the UFC banner, “Killashaw” isn’t too worried about his former partner making a push towards gold.

“That’s hilarious man,” Dillashaw said during a recent episode of BJ Penn Radio. “It sounds like the easiest payday ever. I mean it’s just comical. I mean come out of retirement, get a title shot off of what, losing to Jimmy Rivera and looking like crap in his fights? I mean it’s hilarious. But like I said, it’d be an easy payday, so I guess I shouldn’t be laughing at it. I should be pumping him up.”

Faber, 38, officially retired this past December after defeating Brad Pickett via unanimous decision. Throughout his UFC career, which spanned from 2011-2016, “The California Kid” went 0-4 in title fights. He lost to both Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao twice, while posting a 10-2 record outside of championship bouts.

Despite the feud between Dillashaw and Team Alpha Male, UFC is unlikely to grant Faber a title shot if he decided to come out of retirement. It’s a matchup that would certainly sell to even casual viewers, but Dillashaw is on the cusp of landing a huge superfight with current UFC flyweight champion and pound-for-pound legend Demetrious Johnson.

That said, crazier bookings have happened in the past, and Faber is one of the promotion’s favorites. So if the stars align in 2018 and no clear-cut No. 1 contender emerges at 135 pounds, maybe Dillashaw will get his chance to beat up his old coach.