LAS VEGAS – Ali Abdelaziz wasn’t impressed with [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s antics at UFC 264, nor was he surprised by the way things played out.
A longtime rival of McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) by his close association to former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, the Dominance MMA Management CEO has long thought of the Irishman as “evil” – a word his fighter Nurmagomedov used Saturday after the fight.
With the way things played out Saturday in the aftermath of McGregor’s trilogy fight loss to Dustin Poirier, Abdelaziz thinks his opinion was further vindicated.
“He’s his own manager; he’s his own trainer; he’s the head coach; he’s everything,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie at a small media gathering Monday. “When you have a whole bunch of ‘yes’ people around you, he’s not evolving his game. At the end of the day, good always defeats evil. He’s an evil human being. He cans ay whatever he wants. Of course, I don’t like the guy. But if he does something good, I’ll give him credit. How are you going to threaten to kill Dustin Poirier’s wife?”
If he was in charge, Abdelaziz said McGregor would receive a seven-figure fine for his comments post-fight. Abdelaziz also indicated those surrounding McGregor are partially to blame.
“If I was Dana White, I would fine this guy $1 million,” Abdelaziz said. “Dana should have guidelines. I know Dana said, ‘We say mean things to each other.’ Can you imagine if somebody (said this) about Dana’s wife? I know Dana don’t give a sh*t, but in reality, he’s just completely wrong because this footage is for life. It’s for life. In reality, man, him and his entire people, they are just bad people, man. All of them. They’re delusional.”
Abdelaziz indicated that he’s irked by McGregor’s recklessness and voiced the opinion that McGregor could be doing more with his fame to promote good – rather than trash-talk.
“The guy acts like this (invincible) gangster, but he’s really not. He’s a guy,” Abdelaziz said. “God tests you. He gives you this kind of power, right? And he sees what you’re going to do with it. (McGregor) did everything wrong with his power. Look at guys like Khabib (Nurmagomedov), Dustin Poirier, (and) Daniel Cormier. They use their power (for) good. They help other people. All this guy does is hurt people. Listen, this guy has a family. By doing this, he’s hurting his own family. Who wants to be the son of this kid? Nobody wants to be the son of someone like him.”
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As for doing future business with McGregor, indirectly through the UFC, Abdelaziz is open to his clients getting a payday. Abdelaziz thinks McGregor would be an easy paycheck for his top lightweights, which include former UFC title challenger Justin Gaethje, UFC on ESPN 26 headliner Islam Makhachev, and top contender Beneil Dariush. McGregor’s days of being a “tough out” for the upper-echelon of the division is over, in his estimation.
“In reality, f*ck him,” Abdelaziz said. “I don’t really care about him. He’s easy money. I hope he’s healthy. He can come back (and) fight (Justin) Gaethje, Islam (Makhachev), or Beneil (Dariush). He’s an easy payday for everybody. He’s become, like I said, he’s a prostitute. Guys use him right now for hype. That’s it. Because he’s easy money. He can not beat anybody in the top 10 or the top 15. He cannot compete with these guys anymore. He cannot.”
Check out MMA Junkie’s full interview with Ali Abdelaziz below.
https://youtu.be/lQFDYCF6d9c
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