Conor McGregor's TUF rival admits not chasing GFL return but big-money offer flipped the script

A previous opposing coach to Conor McGregor on 'The Ultimate Fighter' will be competing in Global Fight League's first main event but this was not in the cards for a while. It has been over half a decade since the man in question has competed in MMA, but will now return to the cage for a trilogy bout.

The fighter in question is Urijah Faber, who will face Renan Barao for the third time as part of GFL's first card. Faber vs. Barao III serves as the headline attraction for the May 24 card in Los Angeles and Faber got into the backstory on this bout coming to be when appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show.

Discussing the road to GFL the 45-year-old UFC Hall of Famer said he had his contract with his previous promoter expire as a result of inactivity. Fader added(via Uncrowned):

"I wasn't really looking for a fight. When they offered [Renan] Barao or the possibility of Barao, that sounds fun to me. He is also a guy that has two wins over me. He's a guy that doesn't necessarily - we didn't have a perfect meet up both times. It wasn't like it was scheduled and this and that... It's risk vs. reward. These guys are paying real money."

Check out Urijah Faber discussing how he ended up coming aboard GFL below:

---

Conor McGregor's possible retirement from fighting

Conor McGregor has been in a lot of headlines as of late and on the subject of retirement that was touched on above, there are some thinking perhaps McGregor has recently admitted to being done. This sentiment came across to many as the 36-year-old recently spoke at a BKFC post-event press conference and there was a quip from McGregor about passing on an opportunity for a comeback contest.

Instead, McGregor talked about his aspirations to hold political office in Ireland. The former two-division UFC champion also added that he was happy with what he has done. This came across to many as if McGregor was contented and not angling for a return to combative competition.

This further adds fuel to the proverbial fires of retirement as it is closing in on four years since the Dublin native last competed. McGregor fought in a trilogy bout of his own against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 and sustained a brutal leg injury.