Urijah Faber and Duane Ludwig’s feud is not going to end anytime soon. In fact, it just burned brighter because of Urijah harsh comments about Ludwig in a recent interview on The MMA Hour.
During a segment last Monday at The MMA Hour, Faber went all out about the real score on his drift with Duane Ludwig. The Team Alpha Male patriarch accused Ludwig of being a bully to the other fighters on team. He went even far saying that Ludwig gouges the team members for money.
Ludwig denied these accusations during an interview with MMA Fighting and revealed that even after all the things that happened, he still wants to maintain a professional relationship with the fighters on the team. Last year, Ludwig decided to leave Team Alpha Male and resign from his position as coach so he can start his own gym in Colorado.
The former Team Alpha Male coach denied Faber’s allegations that he was a bully and picked on the fighters based on their race. Faber revealed that Ludwig used to made fun of the black team members saying that they had to get to the back of line. Ludwig vehemently denied these allegations and remained firm with his stand saying that he never made anyone feel uneasy because of their race.
“I don’t know what the hell he’s talking about. There’s jokes floating around the gym all the time. For him to point me out, like what the hell dude?,” Ludwig said.
Faber also said that Ludwig refused to train female fighters at their gym like Paige VanZant, because he didn’t believe in women’s MMA. Ludwig doesn’t completely refute that.
Faber also revealed that Ludwig doesn’t like to train female fighters at their gym because the former Team Alpha Male coach didn’t believe in women’s MMA. Ludwig, however, didn’t entirely refuted this accusation.
“I wouldn’t say I’m against women’s MMA. I do feel uneasy seeing a woman get punched in the face. That, I don’t like. Women’s grappling and wrestling, that’s cool. But seeing a woman punched in the face, I don’t really necessarily like that. There’s awesome women’s fights, but it still makes me feel a bit weird. But yeah, I don’t like to train women,” Ludwig said.
During Faber’s interview, it looked like his issue with Ludwig was mainly financial. Faber said that Ludwig never officially signed any contract with TAM, but the former TAM coach always grumbled about how much money he earned. Faber revealed that Ludwig even received twice the amount than he was promised, but former coach still managed to complain about it. Faber also mentioned that Ludwig thought he was going to help him get sponsors, but there was no formal agreement about it.
“I think he’s got a lot going on. He doesn’t quite keep tabs on the things that he says and things get lost in the shuffle. He’s in the position where no one really questions him. I’ve been around him for two years and no one really questions him. It’s his show, except for when it comes to me. If something that was supposed to happen doesn’t happen, then I’m going to ask you about that. That goes for anybody. He does great on the mic, but he might be just a little bit punchy. And I’m not trying to talk crap or whatever. But he gets cracked hard with a lot of shots and I don’t think that helps, either. When you tell me you’re gonna do something, I expect that. It’s called being a man of your word,” Ludwig said.
The MMA coach also reacted on the issues about the money.
“We definitely had a couple lapses. Every time we talked I thought one thing was said and then apparently something else was said. So there’s multiple times when we had what I thought were agreements and the result was always me getting short-handed. I don’t get it. That’s why we always had problems, because we always had a conversation, we’d agree on certain things and when it came time for certain things to happen, they wouldn’t. It comes from him never being questioned and then me questioning him. Like, what the hell? I’m telling you. He’s the man, especially in Sacramento. No one questions him. Whatever he says goes. That’s not just how I operate. I think we’re all equal and if someone says they’re gonna do something, then they need to follow through and do it just like I am. Just like everyone else should be doing,” he added.