In a shocking revelation TJ Dillashaw has left Team Alpha Male (TAM) for his next fight camp in order to train full time with Duane Ludwig, who had been a coach at TAM, in Denver.
Duane Ludwig won ‘Coach of Year’ at last years MMA awards for his part in TAM success which included Dillashaw winning the bantamweight title from Renan Barao. But he split from the team in order to set up his own gym in Denver, Colorado and things have been messy since.
Urijah Faber, founder of TAM, had invited Dillashaw to the team after he finished college and began his journey in MMA with them starting as an amateur moving all the way up to The Ultimate Fighter and then onto UFC gold.
In a statement given exclusively to MMAFighting.com TJ had the following to say:
“In regards to my upcoming fight camp, I will be doing my training in Colorado. The last six years at Team Alpha Male have been irreplaceable and my brothers there will forever be family to me. I thank each and every one of them for helping me along the way and being a part of this journey we’ve shared. This is not the end of being a part of the Team Alpha Male family, but a new chapter in my career.
“I will be spending my next full training camp with Team Elevation as they’ve offered me an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, with an incredible coaching staff and state of the art facilities.
“I want to thank everyone for the continued support as this has not been a decision I’ve taken lightly.”
Urijah Faber had just the following to say to MMAFighting.com in regards to TJ leaving. “We are sad to see him go, but we’re excited about the next set of champions being developed at Team Alpha Male.”
Alan’s Angle: Urijah Faber and Duane Ludwig had been at loggerheads for a while now and just recently Faber appeared on The MMA Hour to speak in depth about the problems with Duane Ludwig, who in turn appeared on The Fighter & The Kid to speak about Faber and his time at Team Alpha Male. Something had to give and with TJ still working closely with Ludwig for each fight it is not surprising to see him side that way.
It is unfortunate to see but these things happen in MMA, people split from camps and once close friends drift apart and even become rivals. One thing is for sure though, this could set up a fight between TJ and Faber down the line. The pair have said in the past that they wouldn’t face each other being from the same team and close friends but this could easily stir things up between them and remove that barrier.