When TJ Dillashaw announced that he was leaving Team Alpha Male in Sacremento to join Elevation Fight Team in Colorado many people concluded that the rift between Urijah Faber and Duane Ludwig had forced the decision, but the bantamweight champion has claimed there was a different motivation for his move.
“I had to put up a lot of money to do a fight camp”, Dillashaw said in an interview on Team Alpha Male Radio about his last title rematch with Renan Barao. “Now, Elevation Fight Team came to me and they want to pay me some good money to train with them. They’re offering to pay me to train, instead of me paying to train.”
At the same time, Dillashaw does admit the increasingly public feud between Faber and Ludwig has left him in an awkward position.
“I wish the whole thing with Duane would have worked out. I wish Duane wasn’t so hard to somewhat get along with. I get along with him well. He’s a great guy. He means very, very well. Sometimes people hit heads and things don’t really work out. I really wish it would have worked out. I’m the one put in a hard place in all of this.”
Nonetheless, he sticks to his guns and insists that this new offer was too good to turn down.
“Really, if anybody else was in my situation, they would take the exact same deal. This is a very short-lived career. I have to do what’s best for myself. I have to do what’s best for my career and being on top for as long as possible. I can’t fight forever. I’ve got to fight and secure my future and decide what I’m gonna do with my life. This is a great opportunity.”
For the most part Dillashaw says that his former Team Alpha Male friends and training partners are supporting his decision, “except for a couple,” who he doesn’t name.
Like it or not, the decision has now been made and so Dillashaw will now be looking ahead to his UFC fight away from Team Alpha Male in January where he looks to defend his title against former champion Dominick Cruz.
