It appears as though Duane Ludwig's partnership with Team Alpha Male fighters is not ending following TJ Dillashaw's impressive showing at UFC 173.
Ariel Helwani spoke on UFC Tonight (via MMAFighting.com) about Ludwig's coaching duties, noting that Ludwig will corner Chad Mendes at UFC 176 but will not be in the corner of Urijah Faber at UFC 175.
Mendes is headlining UFC 176 against UFC featherweight Jose Aldo in a rematch of their UFC 142 encounter. The first fight ended in spectacular fashion, with Aldo knocking out Mendes with a knee as time expired in the first round.
The Team Alpha Male is promising different results this time around.
Meanwhile, Faber will look to simply stay active by facing Alex Caceres at UFC 176. He finds himself in a bit of precarious situation in the bantamweight division. Faber has lost to former champion Renan Barao twice and current champ Dillashaw is Faber's teammate.
The former head coach and Team Alpha Male have had a very public separation, with Ludwig looking to start his own gym. Although the split initially seemed amicable, the two sides have made statements that seem to suggest otherwise.
It began with Ludwig claiming the parting of ways wasn't supposed to go down the way it did. Then Faber would say Ludwig leaving was "a breath of fresh air."
Plenty of speculation has emerged as to why the two sides seemingly didn't get along. The widespread belief is that Faber and Ludwig simply were two different people who had entirely different personalities. Anyone that's heard Faber and Ludwig speak can easily see where the two might not be on the same wavelength.
Another item of speculation is that the two sides splitting was simply a business matter. Ludwig was brought in to coach a team that had struggled to "get over the hill" despite the wealth of talent under its roof. With the improvement in striking abilities of nearly every fighter across the board, "The Bang Effect," as it was called, became a big trend in 2013.
Ludwig and his striking system saw an explosion of popularity and he very likely is looking for the chance to cash in while the iron is hot.
Regardless of all the rumors, it's clear that Faber and Ludwig had their differences, but it's obviously not to the point where Faber has barred all Team Alpha Male fighters from working with Ludwig.
