Dominick Cruz on Team Alpha Male drama: ‘I think it’s hilarious’

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is highly amused by “Team Alpha Fail” and the drama surrounding Urijah Faber and his camp.

Dominick Cruz has never gotten along with Team Alpha Male. Ever since sparking a beef with TAM head Urijah Faber in the WEC, Cruz has frequently fought and beat members of the camp, including a rematch with Faber in the UFC. Overall he’s 5-1 against TAM, and most recently took the UFC bantamweight title away from former member T.J. Dillashaw.

Dillashaw’s contentious split with TAM before the bout and the continued heat between Faber and Dillashaw, along with news of other members working with other camps, greatly amuses Cruz. He spoke to MMA Junkie about the issues surrounding the camp he calls “Team Alpha Fail”:

“”I think it’s hilarious because you just see the true colors of everybody. All you heard was how those guys wouldn’t fight each other, if you recall. And how close they were and how much of a brotherhood they had. They would never fight their friends, but now all it takes is one little thing to stray away from that in a heartbeat. There’s no loyalty in any of those gentlemen.”

…

“They’ll all write each other off in a heartbeat to get up on the other one,” Cruz said. “That’s just the truth because they proved it. If there’s a better situation these guys can move into for themselves, they’re going to take it. It has nothing to with friendship, it has nothing to do with loyalty, it has nothing to do with brotherhood – it has to do with what they need for themselves. I have no problem with that mindset if you just admit it, but the problem is these guys are trying to play this friendship game and they don’t want to fight each other because they’re ‘best buds.’ It’s just really stupid to me.”

He also believes that Faber is the center of the issues that have led Dillashaw to leave completely, and led guys like Joseph Benavidez, Lance Palmer, and Chad Mendes to work with other teams on a part-time basis:

“Faber is more of a training partner slash buddy slash older brother to those guys, so it’s kind of a weird chemistry,” Cruz said. “He’s not really a head coach, and if they’re beating Faber up in the gym you don’t want that to be your coach because that guy is getting ready for a title shot next and you think you’re better than him, so why would you take advice from him?

“I think that’s kind of what happened with Benavidez and Palmer and T.J., they were beating Faber up in the gym and we’re like, ‘Why am I going to take advice from this guy who is calling himself my coach or my training partner when I could go to (Duane) Ludwig (in Colorado) and he’ll teach me something?'”

Cruz’s next bout hasn’t been finalized yet, but he could very well meet Faber for the third time, or rematch Dillashaw for the 135-pound title. So we’re probably going to be hearing a lot more about this in the coming months.

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is highly amused by “Team Alpha Fail” and the drama surrounding Urijah Faber and his camp.

Dominick Cruz has never gotten along with Team Alpha Male. Ever since sparking a beef with TAM head Urijah Faber in the WEC, Cruz has frequently fought and beat members of the camp, including a rematch with Faber in the UFC. Overall he’s 5-1 against TAM, and most recently took the UFC bantamweight title away from former member T.J. Dillashaw.

Dillashaw’s contentious split with TAM before the bout and the continued heat between Faber and Dillashaw, along with news of other members working with other camps, greatly amuses Cruz. He spoke to MMA Junkie about the issues surrounding the camp he calls “Team Alpha Fail”:

“”I think it’s hilarious because you just see the true colors of everybody. All you heard was how those guys wouldn’t fight each other, if you recall. And how close they were and how much of a brotherhood they had. They would never fight their friends, but now all it takes is one little thing to stray away from that in a heartbeat. There’s no loyalty in any of those gentlemen.”

…

“They’ll all write each other off in a heartbeat to get up on the other one,” Cruz said. “That’s just the truth because they proved it. If there’s a better situation these guys can move into for themselves, they’re going to take it. It has nothing to with friendship, it has nothing to do with loyalty, it has nothing to do with brotherhood – it has to do with what they need for themselves. I have no problem with that mindset if you just admit it, but the problem is these guys are trying to play this friendship game and they don’t want to fight each other because they’re ‘best buds.’ It’s just really stupid to me.”

He also believes that Faber is the center of the issues that have led Dillashaw to leave completely, and led guys like Joseph Benavidez, Lance Palmer, and Chad Mendes to work with other teams on a part-time basis:

“Faber is more of a training partner slash buddy slash older brother to those guys, so it’s kind of a weird chemistry,” Cruz said. “He’s not really a head coach, and if they’re beating Faber up in the gym you don’t want that to be your coach because that guy is getting ready for a title shot next and you think you’re better than him, so why would you take advice from him?

“I think that’s kind of what happened with Benavidez and Palmer and T.J., they were beating Faber up in the gym and we’re like, ‘Why am I going to take advice from this guy who is calling himself my coach or my training partner when I could go to (Duane) Ludwig (in Colorado) and he’ll teach me something?'”

Cruz’s next bout hasn’t been finalized yet, but he could very well meet Faber for the third time, or rematch Dillashaw for the 135-pound title. So we’re probably going to be hearing a lot more about this in the coming months.