T.J. Dillashaw say’s he’s open to fighting Urijah Faber
T.J. Dillashaw and Urijah Faber are that much closer to a showdown
The drama between T.J. Dillashaw and Team Alpha Male continues to boil over. The UFC bantamweight champion appeared on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour to address his side of the controversy. During his time on the show he was asked by Ariel Helwani as to whether or not he would face off against UFC star and former teammate, Urijah Faber. His answer opens a door for a potential fight with his long-time friend and mentor.
“You know, I didn’t think I would be until Urijah started saying the stuff he did,” Dillashaw said via phone call. “He’s the one saying he’s more than willing to fight me. I felt we were a lot closer friends than that, so I put my heart and soul into this team and I thought we were a lot closer than that.”
His statement comes one week after the announcement that he left Team Alpha Male to join the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado. Since that announcement, Faber has mentioned he believes it will be harder to tell Zuffa “no” if presented with the opportunity to fight Dillashaw.
“Zuffa’s not going to be like, oh we can’t fight T.J. because he used to train with us,” Faber said during the Stud Show Radio podcast on Thursday. “Trust me; this train is going to get blown out of proportion.”
Still, the idea of fighting his former teammate hasn’t changed his perception of the decision.
“There’s no other way I wasn’t going to make the decision. Obviously it’s been really tough, a lot tougher than I imagined,” Dillashaw said. “I thought it was going to go over a little easier, but you really find out who people are when you have to make these kind of decisions.”
Dillashaw pointed to the continuing issues surrounding Faber, Team Alpha Male and their former coach, Duane Ludwig, who will now be one of Dillashaw’s main coaches with this new group.
Ludwig joined Team Alpha Male back in 2012 and played a major part in the success of many fighters including Dillashaw and Chad Mendes. In 2013 and 2014 he was recognized as the Coach of the Year by the World MMA Awards. It was during that time that Dillashaw and Ludwig became close which is a key factor in his decision to leave Team Alpha Male.
“I feel that Urijah took it harder than he was going to take it. I thought he was going to understand my position and where I was at,” Dillashaw said. “I was stuck between Duane and Urijah for this last training camp and seeing these guys bickering with each other, making it tough on me. He brought a coach into Team Alpha Male that I learned to believe in; I learned to trust for the last two years of my career.”
Once Ludwig left Team Alpha Male after UFC 173, Dillashaw continued to split his time between both camps in order to get the best of both worlds. However, the strain of doing so caused him to lean towards joining the Elevation Fight Team.
“I told Urijah I have a big fight coming up and I have to do what is best for me and train full-time in Colorado. I was actually forced out of the gym because of that decision that I made. I can’t show my face at Team Alpha Male and that’s heartbreaking for me. “
The idea of being on a team is a regular concept in mixed martial arts. Dillashaw isn’t the first fighter to leave a team in order to build his career, but with the UFC’s promotional power it may become the most well-known story. Especially if he and Faber were to meet in the Octagon.