Dominick Cruz said he takes immense satisfaction from the endless drama that surrounds his rival Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male of late.

Cruz (21-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), the reigning UFC bantamweight champion, has never been fond of the team or its fighters. He’s fought team founder Faber (33-8 MMA, 9-4 UFC) twice, splitting results in the series, owns two victories over Joseph Benavidez (24-4 MMA, 11-2 UFC), and just beat former Team Alpha Male fighter T.J. Dillashaw (12-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) to regain the 135-pound belt at UFC Fight Night 81 in January.

Essentially all the controversy within the Sacramento-based fight camp has been created by the fighters who have passed through its doors to train. Dillashaw was criticized for splitting time with Team Elevation in Colorado before he was ultimately forced from the camp for good, and more recently, notables such as Benavidez and Lance Palmer have spent time at other training facilities.

With a 5-1 record in his career against current or former Team Alpha Male representatives, or “Team Alpha Fail,” as Cruz likes to call it, and another fight with Faber likely on the horizon, “The Dominator” is reveling in the chaos, he said.

“I think it’s hilarious because you just see the true colors of everybody,” Cruz told MMAjunkie. “All you heard was how those guys wouldn’t fight each other, if you recall. And how close they were and how much of a brotherhood they had. They would never fight their friends, but now all it takes is one little thing to stray away from that in a heartbeat. There’s no loyalty in any of those gentlemen.”

A fighter expanding their horizons from a training perspective is nothing new in the sport. Athletes jump from gym-to-gym all the time, but the spotlight put on the team because of Dillashaw’s departure has put every move under a microscope.

Cruz said he takes no issue with fighters from his rival camp seeking out alternative training methods. However, he said he takes issue with the fact no one will own up to their actions. Cruz said fighters like Benavidez are trying to play both sides of the fence, and ultimately that’s just breathing more life into the entire fiasco.

“They’ll all write each other off in a heartbeat to get up on the other one,” Cruz said. “That’s just the truth because they proved it. If there’s a better situation these guys can move into for themselves, they’re going to take it. It has nothing to with friendship, it has nothing to do with loyalty, it has nothing to do with brotherhood – it has to do with what they need for themselves. I have no problem with that mindset if you just admit it, but the problem is these guys are trying to play this friendship game and they don’t want to fight each other because they’re ‘best buds.’ It’s just really stupid to me.

“To hear all that and that’s why they’ve never faced in each other in the octagon, and now they split up and are willing to face each other, it’s just stupid. It’s really, really dumb. It’s like a fraternity house and one fraternity changes to the other one and now they’re not cool anymore and there can only be one group that’s cool. It’s just silly, those guys are just a bunch of drama and they’re all in it for themselves. If they would just admit that then I probably wouldn’t have to say it, but I have to say it because they won’t say it.”

Cruz said he has a theory about the entire situation, and unsurprisingly it revolves heavily around Faber. Although “The California Kid” formed the team and had a large part in acquiring talents such as Dillashaw, Benavidez, Chad Mendes and others, there comes a point where a fighter can outgrow their situation.

That’s likely the case here, Cruz said. Faber is 3-2 in his past five fights and winless in three UFC championship fight attempts. Although Faber will probably receive another title shot as a “gift” from the champ, Cruz said other members of the team have seen a career decline in their mentor and therefor have questioned if they are in the right place.

“Faber is more of a training partner slash buddy slash older brother to those guys, so it’s kind of a weird chemistry,” Cruz said. “He’s not really a head coach, and if they’re beating Faber up in the gym you don’t want that to be your coach because that guy is getting ready for a title shot next and you think you’re better than him, so why would you take advice from him?

“I think that’s kind of what happened with Benavidez and Palmer and T.J., they were beating Faber up in the gym and we’re like, ‘Why am I going to take advice from this guy who is calling himself my coach or my training partner when I could go to (Duane) Ludwig (in Colorado) and he’ll teach me something?'”

Cruz said he believes he has a perspective on the sport that allows him to criticize Faber and Team Alpha Male. The 30-year-old has spent essentially the entirety of his prime years at Alliance MMA in San Diego under the tutelage of coach Eric DelFierro. A strong bond between fighter and coach is a massive key to success, Cruz said. In his opinion, Team Alpha Male does not have that.

“What this thing really comes down to is self-belief. How much do you believe in yourself? How much do you believe in your team around you?” Cruz said. “I think they partially lost faith in the team around them with Faber. Can you really blame them? What can you say to them?”

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