In the aftermath of T.J. Dillashaw’s sensational striking performance in winning the bantamweight title from Renan Barao at UFC 173, there has been much speculation on the future of striking coach Duane “Bang” Ludwig.
Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas was supposed to mark the final night Ludwig was affiliated with Sacramento’s Team Alpha Male, as Ludwig, who had been with the gym for the previous year, was planning on returning home to Colorado.
But in the wake of Dillashaw’s fifth-round TKO of a champion who had not lost in nearly a decade, there were plenty of whispers the two parties would figure out a way to continue working in some capacity.
Now, some details have emerged. MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani reported on Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight that Ludwig will corner Chad Mendes in his featherweight title rematch with champion Jose Aldo at UFC 176 in August in Los Angeles.
Ludwig won’t, however, corner Urijah Faber for his UFC 175 bout against Alex Caceres in Las Vegas, which indicates Ludwig’s involvement with TAM will continue on a fight-by-fight basis. Faber will be cornered by Martin Kampmann.