The injuries of two top-tier bantamweights doesn’t necessarily open the door to a teammate vs. teammate title fight, according to the manager of Team Alpha Male’s T.J. Dillashaw (11-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Urijah Faber (32-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC).

Mike Roberts, who manages both bantamweight champ Dillashaw and top contender Faber, today told MMAjunkie he would “assume” Dillashaw’s next fight is a once-delayed rematch with ex-champ Renan Barao (33-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) – not Faber.

“We would assume we’re probably fighting Barao, but ultimately the UFC is going to call and ask for something,” Roberts said.

Dillashaw’s next title defense was not yet booked when news broke that ex-UFC champ Dominick Cruz (20-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) had suffered another torn ACL and Raphael Assuncao (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) had broken his ankle. But the two bantamweights were widely considered to be in the running for the No. 1 contender position – particularly Assuncao, who’s won his past seven fights.

With the pair now likely to be on the sidelines for the near future, the UFC is forced to look for another contender. And the search comes at a time where the promotion’s supply of viable candidates appears smaller than ever.

Barao, who lost the title to Dillashaw in May, could stand to benefit from the situation. UFC President Dana White sent him home without pay following a botched weight cut that scratched his title rematch with Dillashaw at August’s UFC 177. Dillashaw went on to face short-notice replacement Joe Soto and earn a fifth-round TKO.

Although Barao rebounded this past Saturday with a submission victory over Mitch Gagnon and made it clear he wants a rematch with Dillashaw, it’s unclear whether his win earns him the kind of goodwill that would convince the UFC to take another chance on him so soon after a high-profile issue.

That leaves Faber, potentially, as the most attractive candidate. The ex-champ recently earned a submission over standout Francisco Rivera, however controversial the fight’s ending proved to be.

But according to Roberts, despite a teammate vs. teammate fight having been once entertained by UFC President Dana White, it’s only a distant possibility that Faber would step into the octagon against champ Dillashaw, a longtime training partner.

“They’re brothers,” Roberts said. “I’ll never say never, but I would find that to be highly unlikely.”

Despite Barao’s past issues, the manager sees the ex-champ as the next logical fight. Now, it’s up for the UFC to decide whether necessity makes that so.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.