Dominick Cruz's next fight seems to be slowly taking heat as "The Domiator" has waged war against the entire Team Alpha Male. The former bantamweight champion, however, claimed that there is no personal vendetta against reigning champion TJ Dillashaw.
Dominick Cruz's next fight against Dillashaw was announced at the UFC 178 post-fight press conference after his first round knockout victory over Takeya Mizugaki. "The Dominator" was forced to sit out two full years due to a string of injuries, which also required him to drop his bantamweight title in the process.
While there has yet to be a finalized date and venue for Dominick Cruz's next fight, the bad blood between "The Dominator" and TJ Dillashaw's camp Team Alpha Male has been on an all-time high. The rift, which began in 2011 when Cruz and Urijah Faber coached alongside each other for The Ulitmate Fighter, resurfaced after UFC 178.
"I want to get back in there and take out some more Alpha Fails," Cruz said during his post-fight interview.
Irked by Cruz's comments, reigning 135-pound champion T.J. Dillashaw responded immediately in a report by MMA Fighting.
"I thought he looked good, and I am happy for him to be able to return," Dillashaw said. "I thought his 'Alpha Fail' [line] was a little uncalled for since I've shown nothing but respect, but I'd be happy to put him back in retirement."
On Wednesday, Cruz sat in with MMAJunkie, mainly to speak about his return to the UFC, including his apparent rivalry with Team Alpha Male.
"It just goes back a long time, man," Cruz answered. "The truth is, I cut one head off and another one keeps popping up. So I've already realized in my head, I'm fighting these guys. If it's all of them, OK, let's do it."
"The Dominator," however, maintained that there is no personal grudge with the team's champion, TJ Dillashaw.
"I have a good track record against their style of fighting, and it's not a personal thing when it comes to T.J. Dillashaw," he continued. "It's just, man, he's got my belt, and he thinks it's his, and it's not. So it's me vs. Team Alpha Male."
