After losing former UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw recently, Team Alpha Male lost another one of its’ most established top fighters, as former UFC Flyweight title contender Joseph Benavide…
For Team Alpha Male — another one bites the dust.
After losing former UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw recently, Team Alpha Male lost another one of its’ most established top fighters, as former UFC Flyweight title contender Joseph Benavidez has apparently parted ways with the California-based MMA team.
Much like Dillashaw, Benavidez is expected to end up representing the Elevation Fight Team, that is, according to Team Alpha Male coach Justin Buchholz.
Buchholz told the folks at Stud Radio the following about Joseph Benavidez parting ways with Team Alpha Male:
“He did leave the team. I mean, you train here in Sacramento, you’re part of Team Alpha Male, or you don’t live here. He hasn’t trained at all since I took over as head coach. I thought Joe would at least give a chance of me, and Danny, and Holdsworth running this new program along with Master Thong and Joey. But he never did. He came in town for one week, he moved his house, did, like, one boxing class. I’m not upset at him for leaving because he didn’t leave under me as head coach. He left when the team was hurting — we didn’t have a coach, we didn’t have much direction. So it is what it was.”
Although T.J. Dillashaw and Urijah Faber have their problems dating back to when Dillashaw decided to leave Faber’s “Team Alpha Male” to continue to work with Duane “Bang” Ludwig while he was the UFC’s 135-pound champion, that doesn’t mean Dillashaw wo…
Although T.J. Dillashaw and Urijah Faber have their problems dating back to when Dillashaw decided to leave Faber’s “Team Alpha Male” to continue to work with Duane “Bang” Ludwig while he was the UFC’s 135-pound champion, that doesn’t mean Dillashaw won’t be cheering for Faber in his upcoming fight against the man who took the 135-pound title from Dillashaw, Dominick Cruz.
Dillashaw spoke about the Faber-Cruz trilogy fight during his appearance on a recent edition of Ariel Helwani’s “The MMA Hour” at MMAFighting.com and explained why he will actually be rooting for Faber in the upcoming title fight against 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. 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.”
While he will be cheering for Faber to beat Cruz, Dillashaw admits that when push comes to shove, he’s actually predicting a Dominick Cruz victory.
“Cruz [wins], for sure. 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.”
Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber III is scheduled to serve as the co-main event for UFC 199 on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.
T.J. Dillashaw lost to Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81, but he’s still fighting the fight on social media. Dillashaw recently publicly asked UFC President Dana White for a rematch. Here’s what he wrote on his Instagram page:
“Only equipment needed for the rematch against Cruz. Next training camp is going to be strictly running marathons and pillow fighting. Cause that little bitch doesn’t want to fight he wants to run and throw his pillows around that he calls fists! @danawhiteufc @ufc Give me the rematch to get back what is rightfully mine and should have never lost. No more being respectful or nice cause that doesn’t seem to get you S#%T anymore.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBsLggwSThl/
Dillashaw will likely have to wait for his rematch against Cruz, as Urijah Faber is believed to be next in line.
T.J. Dillashaw lost to Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81, but he’s still fighting the fight on social media. Dillashaw recently publicly asked UFC President Dana White for a rematch. Here’s what he wrote on his Instagram page:
“Only equipment needed for the rematch against Cruz. Next training camp is going to be strictly running marathons and pillow fighting. Cause that little bitch doesn’t want to fight he wants to run and throw his pillows around that he calls fists! @danawhiteufc @ufc Give me the rematch to get back what is rightfully mine and should have never lost. No more being respectful or nice cause that doesn’t seem to get you S#%T anymore.”
Following the UFC Fight Night 81 event, which saw Dominick Cruz recapture the UFC Bantamweight Championship that he never lost in the Octagon with a decision victory over T.J. Dillashaw in his second comeback fight in the past few years, the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission has released the reported salaries paid to fighters on the card.
As seen below, the winners have two dollar amounts listed, as they received their contracted “show purses” as well as their contracted “win bonuses” for getting the victory. Their opponents obviously receive only their “show purses.”
It’s important to note that the following salaries are strictly those reported to the local state athletic commission, and do not include the discretionary post-fight bonuses, non-Reebok sponsorship money some fighters make, pay-per-view points or other income that is not reported to the commission.
UFC Fight Night 81 took place on Sunday, January 17, 2016 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Dominick Cruz ($55,000 + $55,000 = $110,000) def. T.J. Dillashaw ($70,000)
Eddie Alvarez ($100,000 + no win bonus = $100,000) def. Anthony Pettis ($80,000)
Travis Browne ($60,000 + $60,000 = $120,000) def. Matt Mitrione ($36,000)
Francisco Trinaldo ($27,000 + $27,000 = $54,000) def. Ross Pearson ($48,000)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1)
Patrick Cote ($43,000 + $43,000 = $86,000) def. Ben Saunders ($18,000)
Ed Herman ($47,000 + $47,000 = $94,000) def. Tim Boetsch ($52,000)
Chris Wade ($17,000 + $17,000 = $34,000) def. Mehdi Baghdad ($12,000)
Luke Sanders ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Maximo Blanco ($25,000)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Paul Felder ($18,000 + $18,000 = $36,000)def. Daron Cruickshank ($20,000)
Ilir Latifi ($22,000 + $22,000 = $44,000) def. Sean O’Connell ($18,000)
Charles Rosa ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000) def. Kyle Bochniak ($10,000)
Rob Font ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Joey Gomez ($10,000)
Francimar Barroso ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Elvis Mutapcic ($16,000)
Following the UFC Fight Night 81 event, which saw Dominick Cruz recapture the UFC Bantamweight Championship that he never lost in the Octagon with a decision victory over T.J. Dillashaw in his second comeback fight in the past few years, the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission has released the reported salaries paid to fighters on the card.
As seen below, the winners have two dollar amounts listed, as they received their contracted “show purses” as well as their contracted “win bonuses” for getting the victory. Their opponents obviously receive only their “show purses.”
It’s important to note that the following salaries are strictly those reported to the local state athletic commission, and do not include the discretionary post-fight bonuses, non-Reebok sponsorship money some fighters make, pay-per-view points or other income that is not reported to the commission.
UFC Fight Night 81 took place on Sunday, January 17, 2016 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Main Card (FOX Sports 1)
Dominick Cruz ($55,000 + $55,000 = $110,000) def. T.J. Dillashaw ($70,000)
Eddie Alvarez ($100,000 + no win bonus = $100,000) def. Anthony Pettis ($80,000)
Travis Browne ($60,000 + $60,000 = $120,000) def. Matt Mitrione ($36,000)
Francisco Trinaldo ($27,000 + $27,000 = $54,000) def. Ross Pearson ($48,000)
Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1)
Patrick Cote ($43,000 + $43,000 = $86,000) def. Ben Saunders ($18,000)
Ed Herman ($47,000 + $47,000 = $94,000) def. Tim Boetsch ($52,000)
Chris Wade ($17,000 + $17,000 = $34,000) def. Mehdi Baghdad ($12,000)
Luke Sanders ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Maximo Blanco ($25,000)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Paul Felder ($18,000 + $18,000 = $36,000)def. Daron Cruickshank ($20,000)
Ilir Latifi ($22,000 + $22,000 = $44,000) def. Sean O’Connell ($18,000)
Charles Rosa ($12,000 + $12,000 = $24,000) def. Kyle Bochniak ($10,000)
Rob Font ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Joey Gomez ($10,000)
Francimar Barroso ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Elvis Mutapcic ($16,000)
UFC Fight Night 81 averaged 2.288 million viewers from 10 PM – 12:40 AM ET on FOX Sports 1. The prelims from 8 PM – 10 PM averaged 1.767 million viewers. Fight Night 81 took place on January 17, 2016 at the TD Garden in Boston, MA. The event was attended by 12,022 people for a total gate of $1,300,00.
UFN 81 was headlined by T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title, while Eddie Alvarez vs. Anthony Pettis served as the co-main event.
UFC Fight Night 81 averaged 2.288 million viewers from 10 PM – 12:40 AM ET on FOX Sports 1. The prelims from 8 PM – 10 PM averaged 1.767 million viewers. Fight Night 81 took place on January 17, 2016 at the TD Garden in Boston, MA. The event was attended by 12,022 people for a total gate of $1,300,00.
UFN 81 was headlined by T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title, while Eddie Alvarez vs. Anthony Pettis served as the co-main event.
Dominick Cruz (21-1) returned in a big way at UFC Fight Night 81 when he beat T.J. Dillashaw (13-3) to regain the bantamweight title. Now, the UFC as some options on the table for his first challenger. It’s no secret that Cruz was dealing with a foot injury going into the fight this past Sunday
Dominick Cruz (21-1) returned in a big way at UFC Fight Night 81 when he beat T.J. Dillashaw (13-3) to regain the bantamweight title. Now, the UFC as some options on the table for his first challenger. It’s no secret that Cruz was dealing with a foot injury going into the fight this past Sunday night so all of the options that the UFC has will be determined by how long Cruz will be out.
Former UFC fighter and current FOX Sports analyst Kenny Florian have been in the news for his plagiarized article about Cruz before UFC Fight Night 81. Florian once again made headlines when he looked at the UFC’s options for Cruz’s next challenger. The UFC could give T.J. Dillashaw a rematch for the bantamweight title, which would make sense or the UFC could make a trilogy fight between Cruz and Urijah Faber, who have no love lost for each other. Faber and Dillashaw have been very vocal about wanting the next title shot while Cruz has gone on record by saying he doesn’t care who he fights next.
Florian explained on a recent edition of his podcast that he believes if the UFC gives Faber another chance against Cruz then Faber will be beaten worse than ever before because Faber has not improved that much since their last fight, which was at UFC 132.
“I think the guy most deserving [of the title shot] is Dillashaw. Listen, I love Urijah Faber, I really do, I just don’t see that fight being close between he and Dominick. I just don’t, if I’m being honest. I think the last fight [at UFC 132 in 2011] was semi-close, but really it was just Urijah scrambling his brain to try to find out where Cruz was going to be in that cage.
“It’s going to be even worse this time around. Urijah really hasn’t changed that much. I don’t think he’s changed too much from the WEC days. Cruz just continues to get better. I don’t think there’s anyone else at 135 pounds who is close besides T.J. Dillashaw.”
You can listen to the podcast here:
What should the UFC do? Should Faber get another shot? Let us know.
