https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZF1k9yyjyY
Retired mixed martial arts (MMA) great Urijah Faber hung up his gloves after defeating Brad Pickett in his home state of California. Faber got a late retirement gift when his Team Alpha Male (TAM) brethren Cody Garbrandt put on a stellar performance to capture the bantamweight title at UFC 207.
“The California Kid” may be done fighting, but he certainly isn’t leaving his team behind. Faber was on SevereMMA.com’s Talking Brawls podcast and had high praise for TAM:
“I’m gonna be very hands on with my entire team. I look forward to building the team in general as overseeing things. Not necessarily as the head coach per se, I feel like our coaches are doing an amazing job right now. And that’s a big commitment. That’s something that you have to commit all your time and all your energy to be a hundred percent passionate about. I feel like my guys are doing an incredible job. With my guidance and my support, I’m gonna continue to build our team.”
One man that is credited for helping take TAM to the next level is Justin Buchholz. While the former UFC fighter didn’t reach an elite status as a competitor, few would argue that he is a solid coach worthy of praise. Count Faber as one who believes Buchholz should be held in high regard for his contributions to the team.
“We’ve had a great program for over a decade. We’ve been one of the top teams for a very long time and he’s the cutting edge right now. So, I’m not sure how people view him or not but he’s doing a great job and so have the other coaches who have been [there] along the way. So we’re very fortunate. I think he can be a shoe-in for coach of the year.”