Urijah Faber gives prediction for Cody Garbrandt vs. TJ Dillashaw bantamweight title fight

Urijah Faber, who recently retired from MMA and will soon be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, is the mentor of reigning bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt. He was also the mentor of former champion TJ Dillashaw, until Dillashaw left Faber’s Sacramento camp, creating one of MMA’s most visible feuds in the process.

As such, Faber’s analysis of the next UFC bantamweight title fight, which will see Garbrandt attempt to defend the title against his former training partner Dillashaw, is incredibly interesting.

Faber gave his prediction on this anticipated fight, which will occur at UFC 213 this July 8, on the latest episode of The MMA Hour.

In his prediction, Faber admitted there’s a strong chance we’ll see a knockout no matter who wins, but that he thinks Garbrandt is far more likely to land the fight-ending blow.

“I think it’ll probably be a knockout, just because Cody hits hard,” Faber explained. “We’ve seen it in his fights, we’ve seen it in the [practice] room. He’s got a history. TJ’s also a heavy hitter, but not like Cody. They’re going to be in a gun fight.”

Faber then elaborated, explaining that he anticipates a close fight, and that he doesn’t expect an early finish to materialize for either man.

“I don’t think it’ll be that early — I don’t know when, you can’t predict that stuff,” he said “But, I know it’s going to be a very tough fight. I’ve seen TJ and some of his stuff, and he’s already freaking out like a wild man, as he tends to do. It’s going to be a competitive fight, and Cody’s going to get it.”

Faber also explained that he’ll be playing a large roll in Garbrandt’s preparation for Dillashaw:

“I’m going to play a large roll in general, as I have been and in the future with Cody and his training and everything else,” he said. “We’ll be doing the best training in the world over here at Team Alpha Male, and bringing home that strap.”

What do you think of Urijah Faber’s prediction for this fight? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/13/2017.