Even though it has been over a year since Duane “Bang” Ludwig stepped down as the head coach of Team Alpha Male, tensions are still rising and the rivalry between the two parties is at an all time high.
While there is no doubt that Ludwig is an outstanding striking coach, his methods of teaching seem to be a little out there. Urijah Faber recently claimed that Lugwig threw sexist and racist remarks around in a joking manner all too often, to the point where it bothered his students.
UFC Bantamweight Champion TJ Dillashaw saw an amazing jump in his striking game under the tutelage of Ludwig and tried his best to remain loyal to Team Alpha Male and “Bang” through all of their drama. Dillashaw split his time between California and Colorado, trying to appease everybody involved. Recently, Dillashaw packed his bags and train full time with Elevation Fight Team in Denver, Colorado where Ludwig serves as a striking coach. While Lugwig was a reason for Dillashaw’s move, he claims to also be getting paid to train there rather than pay to train.
The move caused a riff between Faber and Dillashaw and now we are at a point where the champion isn’t allowed to show his face at the TAM gym anymore.
“It’s tough for somebody to not understand that I put my heart and soul into this team as much as I could and they kicked me out of the gym,” Dillashaw said while on the MMA Hour. “I am not allowed to show my face at Alpha Male… which is kind of crazy to me. It’s super tough. But I know I made the right decision and I got a big fight coming up and that’s the most important thing. I made a decision to train somewhere else and I didn’t think it was going to blow up and be as ridiculous as it is now. It’s tough because I’m best friends with these guys.”
It doesn’t seem like the beef is between Dillashaw and Team Alpha Male as a whole, but rather Faber and Dillashaw are upset with each other. Hopefully the two parties can patch things up and work together in the future.