UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw leaves longtime Team Alpha Male home

T.J. Dillashaw

UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is no longer a member of Team Alpha Male, according to reports and a rep from the team’s management company.

Citing sources close to the team, Brazilian MMA website Combate reported Dillashaw had parted ways with Team Alpha Male for fight preparation. Mike Roberts, who heads team’s management company, MMA Inc., confirmed Dillashaw’s departure to MMAjunkie.

MMAjunkie wasn’t immediately able to reach Dillashaw for comment.

The Combate report said the UFC champ is set to join Elevation Fight Team, a squad based out of a Denver facility sponsored by supplement maker MusclePharm. Elevation’s head coach, Leister Bowling, confirmed Dillasaw’s addition to the team and told MMAjunkie that he is continuing with an arrangement in place for his past two fights, splitting time between Elevation and work with former Alpha Male head coach Duane Ludwig in Broomfield, Colo., near Denver.

Bowling said several Elevation fighters cross train with Ludwig. Dillashaw’s official move came after he notified Alpha Male founder Urijah Faber, he added.

Dillashaw (12-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who is set to fight ex-UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz (20-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 81, confirmed to MMA Fighting that he will be training with Team Elevation, though he did not mention working with Ludwig.

“The last six years at Team Alpha Male have been irreplaceable and my brothers there will forever be family to me,” Dillashaw told the site. “I thank each and every one of them for helping me along the way and being a part of this journey we’ve shared. This is not the end of being a part of the Team Alpha Male family, but a new chapter in my career.”

A former wrestler at Cal State Fullerton, Dillashaw was recruited out of college by Faber, who invited him to join the team. Dillashaw was one of several fighters who went on to success in the UFC.

A little more than a year after Ludwig became Alpha Male’s head coach, Dillashaw pulled off a stunning upset at UFC 173 against now-former bantamweight champ Renan Barao, stopping the Brazilian in the fifth round. In July, he notched his second title defense in a rematch.

Ludwig announced his departure from TAM two months’ before Dillashaw won the belt, and his exit has since turned into a public feud with Faber, who claimed the coach acted inappropriately with students and made improper financial demands. Ludwig countered Faber failed to live up to promises. Team Alpha Male fighters, however, said it’s business as usual in the gym.

Dillashaw’s history with the team, meanwhile, did not rule out a potential fight with Faber, he indicated on multiple occasions after winning the title.

For more on UFC Fight Night 81, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.