Team Alpha Male fighter: T.J. Dillashaw was 'one of the worst training partners of all time'
By
Nick Baldwin @NickUFC on Jul 29, 2016, 6:30a
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Team Alpha Male fighter Adam Corrigan discusses T.J. Dillashaw’s departure from the gym last year and the former UFC bantamweight champion’s training ethics.
T.J. Dillashaw’s departure from his longtime home of Team Alpha Male created a lot of negative buzz in the Sacramento, Calif.-based gym, the media and the general mixed martial arts community.
It seems like every Team Alpha Male fighter was affected by his exit differently. Some remained friends with the former UFC bantamweight champion, some completely closed the door on him, and some didn’t care whatsoever.
But one thing appears to be mutual, for the most part. Several fighters, including team captain and current 135-pound contender
Urijah Faber, have publicly stated that Dillashaw was a very aggressive training partner.
Last year, "The California Kid" said that Dillashaw was "a very brutal teammate" and had "a temper in practice."
In a recent interview with BloodyElbow.com, welterweight MMA fighter Adam Corrigan, who trains at Team Alpha Male, added to those accusations.
"T.J. was probably one of the worst training partners of all time, no matter who you were," he said. "We have a lot of kids that are 18, 20 years old — they love MMA and just want to train with a teammate. They pay for it, and it’s the experience. You also get some serious fighters that come and train.
"[Dillashaw] would spar with the kids that were there just to have fun and learn and be part of an experience. And he would beat the living sh-t out of them — like, till they’re crying on the mat.
"And I’m like, ‘What the f-ck are you doing man, just chill out. These aren’t the people to be beating up on right now.’ That’s just the person he was."
Corrigan wasn’t too bothered by Dillashaw’s actual departure, as he understands "every person has the right to make their own decisions."
"T.J. wanted to train with [former Team Alpha Male head coach] Duane [Ludwig]," he said. "They have a really good relationship. Very tight, very good, they understand each other. The same kind of psychotic brain, ‘Who cares about the world? Let’s focus on each other,’ type of thing.
"Having him gone, I didn’t really care. I got along with him as a mate but it didn’t really bother me or hurt me at all. He left and I was like, ‘Cool.’ It’s better for the younger guys at the gym because they’re not getting concussed every weekend."
That said, Corrigan says he was bothered by the way Dillashaw handled his departure.
"If he had done it the right way, T.J. would probably still be in the good books with us," Corrigan said. "But he lied about it for a long time. He said, 'No, I'm not doing this, no, I'm not doing this.' It was pretty tough because the team was like, 'Hold on a second, you're kind of just stabbing us in the back.' He just lied about it.
"And that’s the thing. He should've just said, 'Hey, this is what I’ve been offered, they offered me to do this, and offered me to do that.'"
Corrigan questions whether or not joining Elevation Fight Team in Denver, Colo., was the correct move for the former UFC bantamweight champion, as well.
"I think MusclePharm offered him $60,000 a year to train," he said. "In the long-term of things, that’s not a lot of money. You’re sacrificing all the training partners you’ve got — all the top guys in the world — to train with a bunch of guys you don’t know. And you don’t know if they’re going to push you or not."
