According to MMA coach Duane Ludwig, Conor McGregor’s constant jibes at Urijah Faber on The Ultimate Fighter have contributed to the Team Alpha Male (TAM) founder banishing former member TJ Dillashaw from the stable for good.
Faber banned Dillashaw from the group after a bitter row between the pair last week and Ludwig has had his say on what has inflamed to the ongoing feud, per MMAFighting.com (h/t Michael Pepper of MMABay.co.uk):
He (Urijah) is just wrapped up in drama mode from being punked on the show from Conor so much. Conor really got in his head, so he’s trying to take it out on me and then it’s just overspilling. It’s just escalating. Just put the brakes on it, man. Nobody needs this right now. ...
It’s super unfortunate that Faber kicked him [Dillashaw] out. I don’t think that’s quite supportive or being a friend. I think we should all be working together, especially as martial artists. And for anyone to close the door on somebody else just isn’t fair. I don’t think that’s ethical. It’s his decision, but I don’t think it’s best for T.J. and the guys. They should be working together.
Dillashaw decided to leave TAM for the Elevation Fight Team in Colorado to prepare for his fight against Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81.
According to MMA Weekly (via Yahoo), the current UFC bantamweight champion had intended on returning to the TAM gym on occasion to train with his former stablemates, but he has been indefinitely banned by Faber. “He took it pretty hard, and I was actually forced out of the gym,” Dillashaw told The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.
The champion also told Helwani he’s “most likely” keen on fighting Faber further down the line and is “absolutely” confident he would beat the TAM chief, per MMA Fighting's Shaheen Al-Shatti. As noted by MMA expert David Kano, it would be strange to see the former pals face off:
TJ Dillashaw says he's open to fighting friend?/former teammate Urijah Faber, adds he'll beat him... What a cold world...
— David Kano (@TheDKano) October 12, 2015
Faber currently has plenty on his plate, though. The Californian is involved in the ongoing season of The Ultimate Fighter as a coach and is also scheduled to go up against Frankie Saenz on December 12 at UFC 194.
As we can see here, McGregor, another coach on The Ultimate Fighter, and Faber have regularly been at each other’s throats during the filming of the programme:
Faber hasn’t gotten on well with Ludwig in the past, either. The TAM founder previously accused his former coach of being both racist and sexist on The MMA Hour, claims that were subsequently denied by Ludwig, per Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com. As noted by Raimondi, Dillashaw’s decision to leave TAM is thought to be due to Ludwig’s own departure.
Sean Sheehan of SevereMMA thinks Dillashaw would still be with TAM if if wasn’t for Ludwig’s relocation to Denver:
The money Dillashaw is getting is great, but make no mistake about it, without Duane Ludwig in Denver he isn't jumping ship.
— Seán Sheehan (@SeanSheehanBA) October 7, 2015
Faber-Dillashaw does have the potential to be a massive grudge match should this feud continue to escalate. These latest comments from Ludwig are likely to do little to placate matters and unlikely to halt McGregor in making any future jesting jibes toward Faber. But any bout between the pair looks a long way off yet.
Dillashaw has been on a roll of late and in order to keep momentum going when you’re on top, changes are required to prevent complacency creeping in. Clearly, the manner in which he’s gone about it has left a bitter taste in Faber’s mouth, but MMA is not a team sport and the champion looks to have made a professional decision for his individual benefit.
