Photo by Brandon Magnus/Zuffa LLC

TJ Dillashaw was one of the most endearing characters in mixed martial arts after his May 2014 capture of Renan Barao’s title. Not only was it unlikely that the TUF 14 finalist would topple the great Brazilian champion, it seemed absolutely impossible. However, when they finally met in Las Vegas, Dillashaw was on a different planet to his counterpart and his display was deserving of both the ‘Performance of the Night’ and the ‘Fight of the Night’ honors he collected on the back of his fifth round win.

When Barao was admitted to hospital on the weigh-in day for UFC 177, ruling himself out of his rematch with Dillashaw in the process, the American’s willingness to take on Joe Soto on a day’s notice won him more praise. Another late finish in the fifth round presented him as an aggressive fighter who didn’t stop until the final bell and that certainly impressed the UFC fan base as well.

Dillashaw’s last moment in the sun came when he bettered his UFC 173 showing against Barao in their rematch in Chicago back in July. On the second time of asking, Dillashaw only took four rounds to dispatch Barao, proving he was undoubtedly worthy of his championship strap.

While a rift between Urijah Faber and the man he hired as Team Alpha Male’s striking coach, Duane Ludwig, simmered in the background, Dillashaw watched his words each time he was asked about the situation. Although Faber had taken him under his wing and welcomed him into the Team Alpha Male setup, his tutelage under Ludwig led to what many believed to be the biggest evolution in his game–his striking.

All seemed well until Dillashaw announced his intention to move to the Elevation Fight Team in Denver back in October. With the team’s backing from Muscle Pharm, Dillashaw stood to financially gain from the situation as well as being close to Ludwig. Understandably, Faber announced that Dillashaw would not be welcome back to Alpha Male given the amount of bantamweight challengers that train at the Sacramento facility.

In what was a fantastic coincidence for UFC, the promotion broadcast an episode of the latest season of TUF in late October that had been pre-recorded, which featured TJ Dillashaw as a guest coach for Faber’s Team USA. While fighters cannot be blamed for engaging in verbal spats that could potentially sell a fight or an episode of a TV show in this case, it just so happened that the bantamweight champion came face to face with the sharpest tongue in the game when he was on the TUF set that day.

Conor McGregor nearly incited a brawl between the two teams as he called Dillashaw a “snake in the grass.” To add to that, he constantly patronized Faber about Ludwig coming into his camp and taking Dillashaw off his hands.

“Duane came in and held pads for a week and he left with him,” said McGregor to Faber as Dillashaw watched on. “Man up and realize what’s going on.”

The “snake in the grass” line seems to have really made an impression with fans. Have a look through Dillashaw’s Instagram account, there are countless citations of the taunt throughout the comments, and for those short on words, the snake emoji fits the bill for the task at hand.

Similar narratives have been brought to the surface ahead of his much-anticipated clash with Dominick Cruz. According to Cruz, the champion is a “fake person.”

“You’re fake, man,” Cruz slammed Dillashaw during their appearance on Counterpunch. “You’re a fake person. You pretend to be cool with people, but you’re not. That’s why I don't mind talking to you because you’re fake. You’re not real. You’re like “Mr. Nice Guy”, but it’s not real.”

The contrast in public opinion on Dillashaw between today and May 2014 is quite spectacular. A young up-and-comer who virtually came out of nowhere to claim the title, a lot of people now perceive the champion as disloyal on the back of his exodus from Team Alpha Male.

It seems strange that in time where people are heralding fighters for their bravery in taking free agency over a UFC contract, they’re also heavily criticizing Dillashaw for moving teams, which is essentially a business decision.

While Alistair Overeem, Ben Henderson and Aljamain Sterling, among others, have received praise for their pursuit of better pay with free agency, a business move, Dillashaw is being vilified for the same thing. The champion no doubt believes that he will improve more under Ludwig’s watchful eye and the fact that he will earn money for his training at the Elevation facility certainly won’t hurt either. In short, he is doing it for the betterment of his career.

While Dillashaw has certainly played the role of the underdog in the past, it will be interesting how he takes to Sunday’s main event with Cruz with the fans’ new perception of him in place.

Check out these related stories:

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