Chael: Silly sucker TJ not getting paid
Chael Sonnen: “You heard it here first. TJ Dillashaw, you’re not getting paid to train … If you get that for five months I would be stunned.”
The Gangster from Oregon, the reflection of perfection, the man with the biggest arm, the rooster who leaves no chicken unruffled Chael Sonnen recently discussed on his podcast the departure of TJ Dillashaw from Team Alpha Male to Colorado’s Elevation Fight Team.
Dillashaw is reportedly being paid a sponsorship by the gym to train there.
“TJ left under the guise that he was going to be paid to train,” said Sonnen as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMA Fighting. “Do you guys understand how silly that is? Gyms don’t succeed. Us in the business can tell you. Gym doors get locked up every week. The mats get sold, the ring gets torn down, the lease isn’t paid. The gym business is a tough one. I love the sport but I understand that’s a tough business.
“Now a gym without a long history is offering to pay TJ Dillashaw? TJ, those checks aren’t coming, brother. That was a really, really sucker move by you. You must not have an advisor.”
“If you want to move to Colorado, go move. Train with other people. No problems there. His beef with Urijah Faber comes from, ‘Hey, we miss you.’ That’s what that is. ‘Hey, we don’t want to lose you, we miss you, our feelings are hurt.’ But that’s a chump move thinking those checks are going to cash. Now he’s got Dominick Cruz, a fight he’s likely to lose. He hasn’t been ‘Mr. Drawing Star,’ anyway. Not a lot of stars down there. If he loses that fight to Cruz … those checks aren’t going to be coming.
“You heard it here first. TJ, you’re not getting paid to train. I don’t care what promises you’ve been made or who signed the contract. You’re not getting paid a monthly salary to train. If you get that for five months I would be stunned. I’ll tell you now, you’re not getting it for a year. That’s not even in the cards.”
In Dillashaw’s defense, Team Elevation is part of the MusclePharm Sports Science Center & Research Institute in Denver. MusclePharm is a publicly traded company (ticker symbol MSLP), with 2014 sales of over $150,000,000. Major investors include Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida billionaire Arnold Dr. Phillip Frost.
Granted the average fight gym is owned by an actual hundredaire, who has not earned an MD, and might end up belly up on Tuesday. But Team Elevation has a big, reliable friend.
UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw fights Dominick Cruz at UFC Fight Night 81 on Jan. 17 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.