Team Alpha Male has lost another head coach.
Former UFC fighter turned instructor Justin Buchholz has split with the Sacramento based gym after serving as the head coach as well as the Muay Thai coach in recent years.
Buchholz is the latest coaching split with Team Alpha Male after the gym previously worked with both Duane “Bang” Ludwig and former UFC welterweight contender Martin Kampmann in the same role. MMANytt.com first reported the split on Tuesday.
According to Buchholz, he actually hasn’t coached at Team Alpha Male since Darren Elkins’ most recent fight against Michael Johnson in mid-January.
Now the split is official and Buchholz is thankful for his time at the gym as he looks forward to his next endeavor as a head coach for a new team.
“I’m not disappointed,” Buchholz said about his exit from Team Alpha Male. “I’m not a guy who gets disappointed or stays on something that happened in the past or just to rest on my laurels. When I was a young man, I would think that accomplishing something really means something but it’s what you plan on accomplishing.
“I did accomplish a lot and I still have that resume. That’s not going anywhere. I mean 2016 was the best year Team Alpha Male ever had. The amount of belts we won, the win loss record and then capping it off with the 135-pound title. It was seriously the best year we’ve ever had.”
Buchholz says that he’s still open to working with fighters from Team Alpha Male in the future, which was a similar situation that happened when Ludwig left the gym and numerous athletes like T.J. Dillashaw and Joseph Benavidez continued to train with him after the split.
“I will work with certain fighters,” Buchholz said. “I don’t want to mention who I’ll work with. That’s my business and their business.”
While he’s still undecided on his future, Buchholz says that he has already received offers from other gyms interested in retaining his services, but he’s undecided at this time on where he will be coaching next.
“I know the value I have,” Buchholz added.
As far as what happens at Team Alpha Male, the gym had already started employing a ‘head coach by committee’ situation with several former fighters including Danny Castillo and Chris Holdsworth leading practices and working with athletes in the gym.
There’s no word if Team Alpha Male will pursue another head coach or if team founder Urijah Faber might step into that role now that he’s retired from active competition.
