It was a big announcement yesterday when it was revealed that long time Team Alpha Male (TAM) fighter and current UFC bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw was leaving to join Elevation Fight Team and Duane Ludwig in Denver, Colorado.
Ludwig had been a coach at TAM but then left to open his own gym in Denver, a split which has become messy from both sides at times. Regardless, TJ stuck with Duane and spent a lot of his time in Denver while still fighting out of TAM.
The champ appeared on Stud Show Radio and went into a little more detail as to why he left. He said he spent a lot of money going between Team Alpha Male and Elevation Fight Team and the various gyms in Colorado he visited for his last camp and this time it is a lot different. He revealed that Elevation Fight Team are paying him to train there now and that anybody in his position would’ve done the same.
“I was going to go out there and train no matter what for this fight camp. I was going to go back and forth like I did last time. Except last time I paid a lot of money to do that. I had to rent a house while I was out there, I had to pay coaches while I was out there, I had to pay out a lot of money out there to do my fight camp, half at Alpha Male and half at Elevation Fight Team,” said TJ.
“Well now Elevation Fight Team came to me and they want to pay me good money to train with them. They’re offering to pay me to train instead of me paying to train. This sport is growing so much I feel that is the way it should be.”
“Really if anyone else was in my situation they’d take the exact same deal.”
TJ also talks about his love for Team Alpha Male, how hard the break was and he wishes to remain friends with everyone and more (watch from 16:40 on the below video for TJ and TAM talk).