The Dominick Cruz and Team Alpha Male rivalry is as strong as ever, even if your are no longer a part of the famed mixed martial arts (MMA) camp.
That said, what makes the the rivalry a bit weirder is the fact that former teammates are now beefing with one another.
T.J. Dillashaw — who started his mixed martial arts (MMA) career under the tutelage of TAM leader Urijah Faber, lost a split decision to Cruz earlier this year, coughing up his Bantamweight title in the process.
Now, Faber — who is no longer a mentor for T.J. thanks to this — will have a chance to bring the title back to California when he takes on Dominick for a third time on June 4, 2016 at UFC 199 in Los Angeles, California (fight card here).
And though T.J. will be rooting for his former training partner, he doesn’t think Faber has the tools to defeat Cruz.
“I have to be happy for Urijah. I had a friendship with the guy, it’s a cool story if he goes out and beats Cruz and finally gets his belt in like his eighth title shot or something like that, it would be a cool way for him to finish his career in the UFC,” said T.J. on a recent appearance on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting).
“So I’m going to root for him, even through all this drama going on, this bullcrap that got blown out of the water that went on between me and him. I still hope he wins the fight, I like him a lot more than I like Cruz. Cruz is not very respectful and kind of a dick,” stated Dillashaw.
After all that, T.J. says no matter how much he roots for Faber, Dominick will be too much for “The California Kid.”
“Cruz [wins], for sure,” he said. “Cruz is a little too athletic for Faber, Faber is flat-footed. … It’s kind of crazy that Team Alpha Male hasn’t caught on to the way [Cruz] fights. He’s got two weapons and that’s pretty much it.”
Despite his own best efforts, T.J. couldn’t figure out how to defeat Dominick, either, when they tangoed at UFC Fight Night 81 earlier this year (highlights).
Anyone siding with T.J. on this one?