Urijah Faber Blasts TJ Dillashaw’s Departure: It Doesn’t Make Sense
UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is making a big change for his next training camp as he has parted ways with Team Alpha Male earlier this week and will begin his next camp with a new team (Team Elevation) in Colorado.
Team Alpha Male’s founder Urijah Faber recently spoke about Dillashaw’s departure.
“It doesn’t make sense, from now on, because of this tiny amount of money in the big scheme of things that he’s going to represent another team, send the message to our team that what we have isn’t good enough because even in college he had a better situation than us.
“T.J. just said he wants to walk away from the team,” said Faber. That doesn’t mean you get to come in here and help coach the guys when he’s really going to be watching to see a little opening here or there.”
Faber would then explain that he had an issue with Dillashaw’s reason for leaving, which was leaving because Team Elevation would pay him to train at their gym.
“From him making a business decision to go somewhere he feels is going to be better for him, that’s not the right message for the championship team I’m trying to build. That’s not the right message for the little kids to see someone you built into a champion, and then he walks away. That’s not a right message when you’re letting him come in and spar guys when he loses self-control and actually injures people sometimes.”
Faber feels that Dillashaw leaving should not be something to cry about, but to understand it and let Dillashaw go with no emotion.
“Friendship is a different thing, and that’s through actions. You earn that over time, and I would say that T.J. is my friend. I hope he beats the s–t out of Dominick Cruz because I don’t like Dominick Cruz. I like T.J. But he made a decision to walk away, and that’s a big boy decision. It’s gotta be cut and dry.”
Faber said that he’s open to a friendship with Dillashaw, but that’s it following Dillashaw’s decision to leave the team.
“We just know T.J. and it’s not a comfortable situation for him to be trying to act like he still wants to be a part of our team but give all the credit [elsewhere].”
“That’s not how it works for a team I’m trying to build into a tradition of championships. Our team is the best team in the world, and I’m going to maintain that and I’m not going to let anybody break that up,” Faber states. “If people want to leave, we never ask people to stay if they don’t want to stay. Go ahead and go. If you want to be friends, let’s be friends.”
Dillashaw is scheduled to fight Dominick Cruz in January at UFC Fight Night 81.
