TJ Dillashaw Says Team Alpha Male Are ‘Holding Onto Some Bitterness’ After He Shut Down The Hype’ On Cody Garbrandt

The TJ Dillashaw versus Cody Garbrandt and Team Alpha Male rivalry was one of the stories of 2017, but even after their fight at UFC 217, things don’t appear to be over.

Dillashaw won the fight via TKO in the second round and handed Garbrandt his first ever professional loss. Speaking to MMAJunkie Radio earlier this week, Dillashaw said he got closure after winning the fight, but that didn’t think the guys at Team Alpha Male were quite over it yet.

“It’s definitely in my past,” Dillashaw said. “It’s been put behind me and I’d expect it was a little bit more of a neutral once the fight was done and said, but they’re holding onto some bitterness. I came in, they put a lot of hype on Cody and I came in and shut that down so they are a little bitter about it.

“Buchholz, me and him were close friends for six years when I first started coming up to Team Alpha Male. He was the one I lived with and he’s the one that cornered everyone. He cornered me in every one of my fights and we were close friends. For him to mature up a bit was nice, and it pissed me off the way he acted throughout the whole camp, but you know, it is what it is. For me, it’s behind me. It’s probably a lot easier to put it behind you when you come out victorious.”

Reflecting on his decision to leave Team Alpha Male now, Dillashaw remains adamant that he still made the right choice. After a torrid year of drama being played out in the press, the UFC bantamweight champion admitted there was pressure on his shoulders heading into the fight and that he was fighting not only for himself, but for the rest of his family and his coach Duane Ludwig.

“I made the right decision, but I was forced into it like I said,” Dillashaw said. “There was a lot of built up, you could say, pressure, but I didn’t try going into the fight with that pressure, but I know it was there.

“I’m not dumb and seeing Duane’s reactions after the fight and my family, my brother was in my corner and he couldn’t help but yell some things out and start a little bit of a ruckus there. My family coming into the Octagon and saying ‘Karma is a b****’ and all that stuff, but we know we try and be good winners as well as holding ourselves well every day.”