Conor McGregor Says He Could Beat Urijah Faber in Dublin Before Jose Aldo

Conor McGregor just wants to fight. 

Even if he has a fight scheduled for Dec. 12 at UFC 194 against longtime featherweight king Jose Aldo—which he does—McGregor would have no problem taking a fight in his home country in the meantime. 

The Irish sensation recently told Fox Sports in a video promo for Season 22 of the UFC's hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter that he wanted to square off with opposing coach Urijah Faber after filming concludes. 

As it stands now, McGregor will not face Faber after the show. They're just there to coach and trade a few verbal barbs here and there, generating interest in the show and pulling viewers to their television sets. 

McGregor, however, wishes it didn't have to be like that. After a season of back-and-forths, he needs a payoff in the form of a fight, and he feels a matchup against Faber wouldn't jeopardize his December date with Aldo at all. 

"Really, it would be nice to have a fight at the end of it, you know?" McGregor said. "You could easily fit a fight in on the Dublin card in the O2 (3Arena) in October. Filming wraps, I believe, at the end of September. I could go in and make light work of Urijah. I could maul him inside one, you know, and be fresh, and then we could do the Jose fight toward the end of the year, maybe Dec. 5 or Jan. 2." 

Unfortunately for the UFC's interim featherweight champ, it doesn't look like he'll get his wish, and he recognizes that. 

"But they wouldn't have it, so we'll just be cozy and that will be that," he concluded. 

Despite his apparent inability to convince his bosses to let him throw down with Faber after The Ultimate Fighter, it's interesting to hear McGregor voice his desire to fight before Dec. 12. 

A rib injury forced Aldo out of their previously scheduled matchup at UFC 189, so it's peculiar to see McGregor try to line up a fight against a top-level opponent just months before the title unification bout at UFC 194. 

Another injury or setback to the matchup would be devastating to the promotion and to fans, so it's probably best the UFC plays it safe and bubble-wraps McGregor until the late-year showdown with Aldo.