What’s the story?
According to several reports from sources close to Team Alpha Male (TAM) and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 25 cast members, TAM prodigy Cody Garbrandt and ex-TAM member TJ Dillashaw are all set to coach the TUF 25 all-star cast of fighters. Dillashaw, who currently trains at Elevation Fight Team out of Denver, Colorado, had an ugly fallout with his former gym TAM, Garbrandt as well as TAM owner and MMA legend Urijah Faber. In October 2016, it was reported that the 25th edition of the TUF reality show would start filming from January 2017 onwards.
However, the most surprising part about this upcoming season is that it is, reportedly, composed of UFC veterans, TUF alumni as well as several current fighters on the UFC roster. This season is said to be based on the Welterweight (WW/170 pound) division. Some of the names that are, allegedly, a part of TUF 25 are as follows- Johnny Nunez, Dominic Waters, Jesse Taylor, Joe Stevenson, Gilbert Smith, Julian Lane, Edward Gordon, Dhiego Lima, Kajan Johnson, James Krause, Zak Cummings, Mehdi Baghdad, Gerald Harris, Justin Edwards, Seth Baczynski, Mike Ricci, Jamie Yager, Hector Cervantes, Edward Ellis, Junie Browning, Ramsey Nijem, Hayder Hassan and Thomas Gallichio.
In case you didn’t know:
Cody ‘No Love’ Garbrandt (11-0) most recently, fought in the co-main event of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 207, in a title winning performance against Dominick Cruz. ‘No Love’ won the UFC Bantamweight (BW/135 pound) title in a dominant five round decision over Cruz. Garbrandt is Urijah Faber’s star pupil and a longtime member of Faber’s TAM gym, meanwhile, TJ Dillashaw (14-3) is a former UFC BW champion himself. Dillashaw lost his BW title in a razor-close decision to Cruz, but bounced back with two consecutive victories inside the Octagon. Dillashaw scored a dominant decision win over Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 and most recently, he outwrestled John Lineker at UFC 207.
Garbrandt and Dillashaw are no strangers to each other, having been training partners at Faber’s TAM gym. Garbrandt and Dillashaw have also, reportedly, sparred with each other on multiple occasions. In fact, Garbrandt has even gone as far as claiming that he had once knocked out Dillashaw in a sparring session at TAM. Meanwhile, Dillashaw, on his part, has claimed to have made Cody Garbrandt cry in multiple sparring sessions.
Dillashaw’s exit from the TAM camp was an ugly affair, with accusations being levied by Dillashaw against TAM and by a few TAM members against Dillashaw. TJ Dillashaw, now, trains at Elevation Fight Team with Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig, and has repeatedly stated that despite losing the BW belt to Cruz, he is still the best fighter in the UFC 135 pound division. After defeating John Lineker at UFC 207 by unanimous decision, Dillashaw went on to call out the winner of the Cruz vs Garbrandt fight. Now, that Garbrandt has emerged as the victor, Dillashaw is angling for a shot at Garbrandt’s UFC 135 pound world title.
The heart of the matter:
Right now, regardless of the Garbrandt vs Dillashaw or Dillashaw vs TAM angle, TUF 25 seems to be building up very nicely. The past few seasons of the TUF reality show have been a bit lacklustre, to say the least. However, considering the fact that TUF 25 includes several experienced fighters such as Joe Stevenson, Mehdi Baghdad, etc we can, at least, rest assured that in this season of TUF, we won’t get inexperienced fighters thrown into a shark tank with established ones inside the TUF house. Besides, considering the fact that the UFC WW division could use a bit of new blood right now, given the departure of established WWs like Carlos Condit and Johny Hendricks, the idea of basing TUF 25 on the 170 pound division seems like a pretty good plan.
This brings us to ‘No Love’. Garbrandt’s ascension to the top has been a thing of marvel. He came, he saw and he conquered. On the contrary, Tj Dillashaw has been on the sidelines, as far as the title picture is concerned; and now, he is being rightfully rewarded for his hard work. The whole idea of the appointment of ‘coaches’ on the TUF reality show, is to promote a main event matchup between the two said coaches. It is now obvious that Garbrandt and Dillashaw are on a collision course with each other for the UFC BW title that Garbrandt currently holds. As far as the UFC’s business agenda is concerned, the 25th edition of TUF has gotten a ‘Fire and Ice’ combination of coaches in the form of friends-turned-foes, Garbrandt and Dillashaw.
What’s next?
As of now, Garbrandt is enjoying his newfound lifestyle, of a world champion. With the championship belt, come several perks that are only offered to the elite in the fight business. After taking the title off Cruz at UFC 207, Garbrandt offered to give Cruz an immediate rematch. However, UFC President Dana White made it clear that TJ Dillashaw was next in line for a shot at the UFC BW belt. These reports of Garbrandt and Dillashaw coaching TUF 25 opposite each other provide further confirmation of this fact.
TJ Dillashaw seems to have moved over his highly publicized separation from TAM, but the bitter aftertaste of the media circus between him and TAM, remains. Dillashaw has an excellent team up in Denver. Under the tutelage of Duane Ludwig, Dillashaw’s striking seems to be getting more and more venomous by the day. But, all analysis aside, Garbrandt and Dillashaw have to first go through the task of spending time as well as a bit of knowledge with their respective team members in the TUF house.
Sportskeeda’s Take:
TUF 25 seems to be a cracker of a season. We, as fans, should definitely expect more news from the TUF reality show front in the next few days. Besides, the very fact that the UFC has chosen Garbrandt, who seems to have a budding fan base, to coach against Dillashaw, his former friend and now sworn enemy; just goes to show that the UFC has legitimate interest in getting something valuable out of this TUF season.
Now, whether the aim of the UFC is TUF reality show ratings, promoting the UFC BW title fight or both; how this entire saga shapes out, remains to be seen. Till then, one thing is guaranteed, this year’s ‘TUF’ really does have the potential to be ‘tough’.
