LAS VEGAS – UFC welterweight [autotag]Abdul Razak Hassan[/autotag] remained relatively quiet over the past 18 months.
Alhassan (10-1 MMA, 4-1) was accused of rape by two women after he allegedly took them back to one of their homes in Saginaw, Texas, on March 23, 2018. Alhassan had been working at the Varsity Tavern in Fort Worth that night as a bouncer. He was indicted on the allegations in September 2018.
As he dealt with accusations of sexual assault, Alhassan stayed out of the public eye and let the judicial process play out. On Friday, a jury found Alhassan not guilty of all charges.
On Saturday, Alhassan spoke out for the first time with MMA Junkie.
“My emotions are all over the place,” Alhassan said. “I’m angry, but at the same time I’m excited to be back. My life has been on hold for the past two years, not knowing where (it) was headed. Finally I was able to prove my innocence of something I was wrongfully and falsely accused of. Being able to put that behind me and come back. I cannot wait. I cannot tell you how much frustration I have to put toward somebody.”
Through the trials and tribulations, Alhassan said he learned a lot. He offered support to those who are enduring a similar experience and asked them to reach out to him on social media.
“The kind of pain I went through, I would never even wish that on my worst enemy,” Alhassan said. “The kind of nightmares I have, I hope if somebody is out there who went through the same thing as I did and they’re innocent and don’t have anybody to talk to, I don’t care – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, message me. I will always be a friend to them and talk to them about it. They should always watch where they go and should always have people they know have the right intentions with them – not just have any kind of friend.”
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Over the past year-and-a-half, Alhassan said he lost acquaintances, but he also identified who his true friends were. He credits his God, wife and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, for helping him through the tough times.
Alhassan hopes the naysayers will balance their past criticism with positivity.
“All of the people that said that negative stuff about me, I hope seeing this positive makes them also push the positive – just like they pushed the negative stuff without knowing my side of the story,” Alhassan said.
Alhassan confirmed he is still part of the UFC roster. He said the experiences and stress of the past 18 months have made him want to fight as soon as possible. He’s also interested in representing Ghana as a judoka in the Summer Olympics.
“If they’re telling me, ‘Razak, we have a fight for you next week, and we want you to cut 100 pounds,’ I’ll cut that 100 pounds,” Alhassan said. “I’ll put a hole in anybody’s head, who they give me. I just cannot wait.”
You can watch the exclusive interview with Alhassan in the video above.
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