Team Alpha Male has been going through a lot of drama lately, and a lot of fighters are having a good time witnessing all of it. A perfect example would be MMA bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. He said that he as a theory on why this is happening to them- each of them are outgrowing their situation. It is true that Team Alpha Male members like Chad Mendes, TJ Dillashaw, and even Benavidez are indeed talented, but Cruz said that this event is quite inevitable.
Faber has a record of 3-2 in his previous fights and met a couple of losses in the three chances that he had on a title. And even though Faber will most likely get another shot at a title as a “gift” from the MMA champion, Cruz said that the other Team Alpha Male members have seen a decline in their mentor’s career and might have questioned themselves if they are in the right team.
“Faber is more of a training partner slash buddy slash older brother to those guys, so it’s kind of a weird chemistry. 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 said.
Cruz further said that he thinks he has a perspective on the MMA industry that lets him criticize Faber and his team. Cruz basically spent the peak years of his career at Alliance MMA in San Diego under the guidance of coach Eric Del Fierro, which is why he has a strong bond with his coach and team. Cruz said that it is very important for the fighter and his coach to have a strong bond in order for everything to work. This is clearly not present in Team Alpha Male.
“What this thing really comes down to is self-belief. How much do you believe in yourself? How much do you believe in your team around you? I think they partially lost faith in the team around them with Faber. Can you really blame them? What can you say to them?,” the bantamweight MMA champ added.