The continuing devolution of TJ Dillashaw
The long history between Dillashaw and his current coach, Duane Ludwig, and Team Alpha Male’s Garbrandt, Urijah Faber, Justin Buccholz, and others, is jaded at best.
Dillashaw cut his MMA teeth with the Alpha Male crew. When Ludwig came on board as the team’s coach, Dillashaw made an instant connection. Under the combined guidance of Ludwig and Alpha Male, Dillashaw captured the UFC bantamweight championship from Renan Barao and defended it twice.
There was a very public falling out when Ludwig left Alpha Male to start his own martial arts training center in his home base of Colorado and Dillashaw soon followed. Things have never been the same. Alpha Male labeled Dillashaw a traitor and only harsh words have been said since.
Although it’s been a couple of years since the scenario played out, the harsh feelings have not subsided. After Dillashaw lost the belt to Dominick Cruz, and then Garbrandt took it from him, the flames have only grown hotter.
Dillashaw was slated to challenge Garbrandt over the summer after the two coached opposite each other on The Ultimate Fighter, but that fell apart when Garbrandt’s back wouldn’t conform with the plan and the champ had to withdraw.
Now, they are rescheduled to meet as part of the blockbuster UFC 217: Bisping vs. St-Pierre fight card on Nov. 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Cruz, however, feels that the sordid history between the parties involved will play negatively for Dillashaw as the fight rolls around.
“(Dillashaw) has some fights since I fought him, so you can tell he’s made some changes. He wasn’t looking as aggressive. He’s taking his time more and doing what he needed to. I think that type of mindset is going to be real important for him to get to Cody. He has all the tools,” Cruz said on a recent edition of UFC Unfiltered.
“It’s just the question of how is he going to deal with that whole team, in my opinion, because that whole team plays a very interesting game.”
That is where the crux of the problem lies, as Cruz sees it. Dillashaw has angst with the Alpha Male team, not just one or two fighters. It’s not simply Dillashaw and Faber or Dillashaw and Garbrandt hurling insults at each other. It’s the majority of Team Alpha Male that is constantly taking shots at Dillashaw, criticizing not only his decision to leave the team, but also his behavior while he was part of the team.
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
