TAMPA, Fla. – Having originally turned down a fight with Urijah Faber, Kron Gracie says he might now be open to it.
Gracie (5-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who trains in Stockton, Calif., with Nick and Nate Diaz, was offered a fight with Faber (35-10 MMA, 11-6 UFC) but turned it down because of their team affiliations.
Gracie was surprised when Faber said he wanted to fight him.
“Again, this is the loyalty part I’m talking about, which is very rare today,” Gracie told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s UFC Tampa open workouts. “Nick and Urijah had a deal to not fight each other’s teams for a long time. This was in the beginning of their fight, so I don’t know maybe Urijah kind of forgot about that. And since he’s got new fighters and new things, he’s not really too concerned with what kind of … they basically don’t fight each other. Nick Diaz guys, Nate Diaz guys don’t fight Urijah Faber guys, and I’m part of Nick’s team.”
And because of his team’s relationship with Faber, Gracie just didn’t want to be in the middle of it. But after Faber came out in interviews and said he’d love to fight him, Gracie changed his tune.
If Faber keeps talking and mentioning his name, then he’s game.
“I didn’t want to make anybody from my team feel weird,” Gracie said. “I didn’t want anybody from their team to feel weird, so I was kind of like it’s not an interesting fight for me, but if he keeps calling my name and keeps talking (expletive), and he keeps wanting the fight, I mean I’m not going to not fight him if he’s attacking me, you know?
“I did my part and said at first that I didn’t want to fight him based on the fact that he has an affiliation with Nick and Nate, but to a certain extent I’m still mad, and I personally don’t have a relationship with him.”
UFC on ESPN+ 19 takes place Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla., where Gracie meets Cub Swanson in the co-main event. The card streams on ESPN+.
To hear more from Gracie, watch the video above.
Kron Gracie initially wouldn't fight Urijah Faber because of Diaz brothers pact, but that's changed