ali abdelaziz – Syndication Server

Ali Abdelaziz: Magomed Ankalaev ‘superior everywhere,’ will knock out Alex Pereira

Ali Abdelaziz is confident Magomed Ankalaev will be the one to take out UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira.

[autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag] is confident [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] will be the one to take out UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag].

Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) retained his light heavyweight title with a brutal fourth-round TKO of Khalil Rountree in Saturday’s UFC 307 main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

Pereira plans on staying put at 205 pounds, and Abdelaziz expects Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) to cement himself as No. 1 contender if he can get past Aleksandar Rakic Oct. 26 at UFC 308. No one has had an answer for Pereira on the feet at 205 pounds, but Abdelaziz says Ankalaev has the tools to beat him at his own game.

“I truly believe I think he will knock out Alex Pereira,” Abdelaziz told Submission Radio. “I believe he has every skill set to do it, and I believe he will do it. I didn’t know too much about Khalil before. I thought he was a 50-50 type of fighter. Yesterday, I’m a fan for life of Khalil Rountree. Khalil Rountree dropped him two times.

“I believe Ankalaev has way more precision, way smarter than both of them. I believe Alex Pereira’s chin is a little bit better at light heavyweight, but the man has been in so many wars, and I believe his chin is not there, and it’s normal. It’s not knocking on him. I don’t think his chin is there 100 percent.”

Abdelaziz dismissed the notion that the UFC is trying to protect Pereira by giving him favorable stylistic matchups, but sees Ankalaev as the more well-rounded fighter.

“I think Alex is a great champion, but I think Ankalaev is superior everywhere,” Abdelaziz said. “I believe Ankalaev will beat him in wrestling and grappling. I believe Ankalaev doesn’t get hit.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

Ali Abdelaziz: ‘It’s bullsh*t’ Magomed Ankalaev is not getting a title shot

Ali Abdelaziz thinks Magomed Ankalaev is the rightful No. 1 contender.

[autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Magomed Ankalaev[/autotag] is the rightful No. 1 contender.

Ankalaev has been passed up for a title shot in favor of Khalil Rountree (13-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC), who challenges light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira (11-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in the UFC 307 headliner Oct. 5 in Salt Lake City.

Instead, Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) was matched up with Aleksandar Rakic (14-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) Oct. 26 at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.

“Certain fighters have a long road to the title, like Khabib (Nurmagomedov), like Kamaru Usman, like Islam Makhachev,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “But when they get there, they become dominant. Listen, the UFC has different views about what they want to do with Alex Pereira. They want him for Utah. Magomed Ankalaev will fight in Abu Dhabi, in his market he fights in. Magomed has a new deal he’s very happy with. He deserves a title shot.

“It’s bullsh*t he’s not getting a title shot. ‘He just fought for the title, too.’ This is kind of what the UFC said. But the reality, I believe he’s the best light heavyweight on the planet. I know it, you know it, Dana White knows it, Mick Maynard knows it. Alex Pereira became a big star – you can’t take this away from him. The guy is always game to fight. But every road has an end. Magomed Ankalaev will handle business, Alex Pereira will handle business, and these two guys will fight in 2025.”

Ankalaev is unbeaten in his past 12 fights. He had one crack at the belt when he fought Jan Blachowicz to a split draw in their vacant light heavyweight title fight at UFC 282 in December 2022.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.

Ali Abdelaziz: Islam Makhachev wouldn’t say no to ‘massive star’ Conor McGregor for next title defense

It appears Conor McGregor may be able to jump the line and earn a title shot with a win at UFC 303.

It appears [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] may be able to jump the line and earn a title shot with a win at UFC 303.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) returns in the June 29 main event in a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC).

Both UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) and now his manager [autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag] are on board with McGregor being next in line with a win over Chandler.

“Conor might go there and knock out Chandler in the first round and after that, he’s one of the biggest stars in the sport,” Abdelaziz told Submission Radio. “Like him or hate him, he is. And if he tells the UFC, ‘Hey, I want a title shot,’ Islam wants a title shot, that can be the next title shot. Islam’s not going to say no to this fight. It’s a big fight, it’s a big name, it’s a lot more money.”

It’s no secret that Abdelaziz isn’t a fan of McGregor. He was a target in McGregor’s trash talk in the build up to the Khabib Nurmagomedov fight at UFC 229 – the highest-selling pay-per-view in company history.

“The guy’s a massive star,” Abdelaziz said. “I think he’s a piece of sh*t, but he is a massive star. You can’t take this away from him. With the history with Khabib and with him and with Islam, it will be all over again. It’ll be all over again and it’ll be one of the biggest fights you can make today.

“One thing I know about Dana White, he likes money and he likes business. That’s why the UFC is so big right now. You have Dana, you have Hunter, you have Sean, you have Mick. They are great minds, and they put on the biggest fights that can sell the most pay per views.”

Abdelaziz has his hesitations on McGregor’s form after “The Notorious” has been constantly seen partying in the lead-up to his fight with Chandler.

“Conor has to get off the bottle and he has to leave the drugs alone and focus,” Abdelaziz said. “The guy was a two-division champion, and he has talent. But is the hard work now there or not there anymore? You have to ask him this question.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Ali Abdelaziz: Amanda Nunes retired because ‘biggest nightmare’ Kayla Harrison was coming to the UFC

Ali Abdelaziz thinks Amanda Nunes wanted no part of Kayla Harrison.

[autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] wanted no part of [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag].

Former teammates Nunes (23-5 MMA, 16-2 UFC) and Harrison (17-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) were on a collision course, but being part of different promotions prevented them from being able to fight each other.

Nunes hung up her gloves as UFC dual-champion after retaining her bantamweight title against Irene Aldana in June 2023. Seven months later, two-time PFL lightweight champion Harrison signed with the UFC, and Abdelaziz thinks Nunes’ timing to retire was not coincidental.

“Amanda Nunes did everything,” Abdelaziz told Submission Radio. “She retired because Kayla was coming to the UFC, No. 1. She left ATT because Kayla was training there, right? She turned on the people who really helped her, like Dan Lambert and Conan (Silveira) and everybody who helped her because Kayla was getting more attention.

“She’d grown, and she knew they were going to have to fight, right? Amanda Nunes, her biggest nightmare in here, it was Kayla, and this is why she retired. She has a lot of pride in her. She retired because of Kayla Harrison, and now she said she wants to come back. I don’t think she ever comes back. But if she comes back, that’ll be amazing.”

Harrison submitted Holly Holm in her promotional debut at UFC 300 in April, and is eager to lure Nunes out of retirement. Abdelaziz theorizes that Nunes left American Top Team to form her own private gym because of Harrison.

“She trained a couple of times (together),” Abdelaziz said. “And whatever happened in the training room happened, and she never wants to train with Kayla again. She never wants to spar with Kayla again. She starts training by herself, away from the team every time Kayla comes to the gym. She left. And ATT really created who she is, and she turned on them because she thought, ‘Kayla’s coming.’ And you know what? She was coming. She was right. Kayla was coming.

“But she was the champion. She was jewel of the gym. Her insecurity and uncertain about beating Kayla allowed her to leave the gym. I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I think Amanda, she missed attention, and I think enough pressure from me and you talking about it, all the media talking about it, it might tickle her ego a little bit and for her to come back. But it doesn’t matter if she wants to come back. She can come back. She’s going to take this loss (to Harrison) and go back to retirement.”

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Kamaru Usman’s manager says August return ‘completely not true,’ but will ‘100 percent’ fight in 2022

UFC welterweight champion is still recovering from hand surgery, but the timeline for a return is not yet certain.

UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] is just now starting to use his surgically-repaired hand in training, and his manager wants people to pump the brakes on the rumors of his return in August.

A few months after his title defense against Colby Covington at UFC 268, Usman (20-1 MMA, 15-0 MMA) underwent surgery in February to repair damage to his broken right hand. According to his manager [autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag], his client deserves some time off without the pressure of worrying about when to return to action.

“I think Kamaru’s been giving fight, after fight, after fight in two months, three months turnaround and I think that man deserves a break,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. “I think this injury is a blessing in disguise. He needs to kind of heal his body and need to focus on himself and his family. But I’ll tell you something, this guy train every day. It doesn’t matter – one hand, one leg, one eye.”

As one of the most active current champions under the UFC banner, “The Nigerian Nightmare” has racked up five title defenses since winning the belt by defeating Tyron Woodley at UFC 235. In 2021, he defended three times, winning fights in against Gilbert Burns in February, Jorge Masvidal in April, and Covington in November. As for his return to action, Abdelaziz doesn’t care who the next opponent will be, and wants everyone to be patient just like the UFC brass has been.

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“Honestly, it doesn’t matter who’s gonna be next,” Abdelaziz said. “I know somebody said he’s fighting Aug. 20th and that was completely not true, because he’s still trying out his hand. … Kamaru loves to fight. When Kamaru ready to fight, and I’ll be honest, credit to the UFC, they’re not pressuring us, they’re not pushing us. Dana, Sean, Hunter, all those guys, they’re being very cool about it because they understand who Kamaru is, what kind of man he is, right?”

Potential challengers such as Leon Edwards and Khamzat Chimaev are waiting for their opportunity to face Usman for the title. While Edwards appears to be the front runner between the two options, regardless of the opponent, Abdelaziz assures Usman will be back inside the cage this year.

“He’ll fight 2022, 100 percent,” Abdelaziz said. “Maybe in August, maybe September, maybe Madison Square Garden, we have not know yet. UFC has given us the laid-back saying, ‘Hey, when you’re ready, let us know.’ And we’re gonna let them know. And I appreciate that because promoter always pressuring you to fight. I think they respect him so much and they’re not pressuring him and everything is good.”

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MMA’s Kamaru Usman knocks out ‘coward’ Canelo Alvarez in three rounds, says manager

Kamaru Usman would knock out ‘coward’ Canelo Alvarez in three rounds, according to the MMA fighter’s manager.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.

MIAMI – Ali Abdelaziz has made a bold prediction for a potential boxing match between MMA fighter Kamaru Usman and boxing champion Canelo Alvarez.

Abdelaziz, the Dominance MMA chief who manages Usman and an array of other high-profile fighters, is pushing for the UFC welterweight champion to get his desired boxing match against Alvarez. Despite UFC president Dana White not being on board with the idea just yet, Abdelaziz said he really likes Usman’s chances against Alvarez.

“Kamaru will knock him out in three rounds,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. “You cannot say no to Kamaru. He’s a guy who comes from Africa. He jumped a lot of obstacles. I believe in Kamaru. This is the difference between me and other people. I believe in him, I live with him, I breathe with him, I die with him, I fight with him. He’s a special person in my life.

“How many street fights have me and Kamaru been to? We’ve been in a lot of street fights, and I have to believe in him. I believe Kamaru can beat any man alive.”

Abdelaziz said that Usman, who’s No. 1 in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings and No. 2 on the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie list, didn’t just want to test himself against any boxer. He wanted to go straight for the best. Abdelaziz also took a jab at boxers for their unwillingness to cross over into MMA.

“I know [Usman] didn’t want to fight Jake Paul; he didn’t want to fight Logan Paul,” Abdelaziz said. “He said I’m the pound-for-pound king in MMA, I want to fight the pound-for-pound coward in boxing because I think all these boxers are cowards because none of them want to come to MMA.

“They all want to come to boxing, but at the end of the day, in a street fight, who’s the baddest man on the planet? They cannot quote Canelo as the baddest man on the planet. They cannot quote Canelo the pound-for-pound best boxer because if they both in the street, who’s gonna win? Kamaru would beat his ass like he stole something.”

Usman, 34, is on a 19-fight overall winning streak and hasn’t lost since his second professional bout in May 2013. He’s successfully defended his UFC welterweight title five times with two wins each over Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, and a victory over Gilbert Burns.

Alvarez is scheduled to challenge light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.

MMA’s Kamaru Usman knocks out ‘coward’ Canelo Alvarez in three rounds, says manager

Kamaru Usman would knock out ‘coward’ Canelo Alvarez in three rounds, according to the MMA fighter’s manager.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.

MIAMI – Ali Abdelaziz has made a bold prediction for a potential boxing match between MMA fighter Kamaru Usman and boxing champion Canelo Alvarez.

“How many street fights have me and Kamaru been to? We’ve been in a lot of street fights, and I have to believe in him. I believe Kamaru can beat any man alive.”

Alvarez is scheduled to challenge light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol on May 7.

‘If anybody deserves to be paid, it’s Francis’: Ali Abdelaziz weighs-in on Ngannou’s UFC contract dispute

Dominance MMA chief Ali Abdelaziz believes Francis Ngannou deserves to be paid well by the UFC, but both sides must want to negotiate.

MIAMI – One of the most prominent MMA managers in the world believes the UFC heavyweight champion is doing the right thing by standing up for what he wants.

Head of Dominance MMA, [autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag], supports [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag]’s ongoing contract dispute with the UFC, while believing both sides will eventually come to terms on a new deal.

“If anybody deserves to be paid, it’s Francis,” Abdelaziz recently told MMA Junkie. “You look at the story, the guy come from Cameroon, went to Moracco, got on a plastic boat to Europe – the man has a strong will.

“The man has a strong will, but Dana White been waiting 20 years for someone like Francis to arrive, to be on the scene, to become the baddest heavyweight on the planet. This whole narrative that Dana White doesn’t like Francis, I think is wrong. It’s almost impossible not to like Francis. He puts on great shows. He’s a great human being and I think it’s a lot of ego involved.”

Ngannou entered UFC 270’s title unification bout against Ciryl Gane on the final fight of his UFC contract, despite the best efforts from both sides ahead of the bout. Since he won, the current deal was extended for three more fights or a calendar year. The champ and his representation, Marquel Martin of CAA Sports have expressed money is only a part of the issue and they would like to have the freedom they believe a fighter labeled as an independent contractor should have.

“Francis said it’s not about the money, it’s about freedom,” Abdelaziz said. “Francis wants to box, right? That’s his dream. I think Dana White could make his dream come true because he’s the baddest promoter on this planet. If you want to promote a fight against Tyson Fury, he’s an ESPN guy, Dana’s an ESPN guy, you bring both of them and make this fight happen. I think they need to kill all the noise, stop talking to the media, stop tweeting stuff, stop putting stuff on Instagram. Both sides.”

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Negotiations could go on for the foreseeable future, considering Ngannou will soon undergo surgery to repair the injured knee he fought with at UFC 270. The champ will then face a nine-month recovery period before preparing for his next fight, which gives both sides plenty of time to iron out the details on a potential new contract.

“Francis probably left in the last two fights $12 million on the table,” Abdelaziz said. “This is a courageous man. How you not gonna respect this man and this man come from nothing? Do I think it was the smartest thing to do? Absolutely not. I don’t think you should leave this kind of money on the table, but his main thing is he wanted to box. I think Dana White will let him box, but it has to be, ‘I’m gonna be a team player here, we’re gonna work together.'”

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Manager Ali Abdelaziz: PFL frontrunner to sign Kayla Harrison, but deal is not done

It seems Kayla Harrison may end her free agency to re-sign with PFL.

MIAMI – It looks like [autotag]Kayla Harrison[/autotag] will stay put at PFL, however the deal is not yet complete.

The two-time PFL women’s lightweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist in judo is likely to end her free agency and return to PFL in 2022.

Manager [autotag]Ali Abdelaziz[/autotag] gave MMA Junkie an update on Harrison’s free agency on Wednesday at the pre-fight press conference for Eagle FC 44.

“Right now PFL is the frontrunner,” Abdelaziz said. “I’ve seen reports that she signed with PFL and that’s not correct. She’s still a free agent. But at the end of the day, PFL has been great to her and they’ve been great to all of us. Congratulations for them to be on ESPN, the baddest network on the planet. A couple of things need to happen and it’s in the process. I think PFL looking really good right now.”

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Harrison (12-0), one of MMA’s hottest names today, fought out her PFL contract in October, winning the 2021 PFL women’s lightweight season. She’s currently undefeated and considered by many one of the top female fighters today.

Major promotions such as UFC and Bellator have shown interest in Harrison throughout her free agency, but it seems the American Top Team product will likely resign with PFL.

Abdelaziz isn’t hesitant to say that Harrison today is the best female fighter in MMA.

“Let’s make this clear today, Kayla Harrison is the pound-for-pound greatest female fighter we’ve ever seen,” Abdelaziz said. “It’s not Ronda (Rousey), we saw what happened to Amanda (Nunes), it’s not Julianna Peña, it’s Kayla Harrison. This woman is born to collect gold. There’s not a woman on the planet, and some of the men too, have not been born to beat Kayla Harrison.”

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‘When you die I celebrate’: Conor McGregor, Ali Abdelaziz exchange heated words

Things got personal once again between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz.

[autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] might be retired, but the feud between [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and manager Ali Abdelaziz continues.

On Wednesday, McGregor and Abdelaziz, the CEO of Dominance MMA, engaged in an intense back-and-forth on Twitter. The exchange commenced when McGregor tweeted a screenshot of Nurmagomedov’s face from an infamous bus attack incident in April 2018.

The image was captioned, “Bastrykin! Where is Khabib’s ‘sh*t in his pants medal’? He need this for sh*t his pants 10 rows back.”

Bastrykin! Where is Khabib’s “shit in his pants medal” ? He need this for shit his pants 10 rows back. 🇷🇺 pic.twitter.com/8WRFsr1Js6

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 13, 2021

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