"He's an idiot" - MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz names only UFC fighter he'll "never make peace with"
Dominance MMA founder and CEO Ali Abdelaziz is one of the leading managers in mixed martial arts and he represents high-profile clientele like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and Kamaru Usman.
Abdelaziz recently spoke to Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA in an interview where he outlined his goals for 2024.
"And I want to be servant of my athlete. They are bigger than me, I just wanna serve them. Non-stop, 24/7. And I want to be fair to everybody. Promoter, athlete, media, sponsor. I want to be a nicer person. I want to be nicer to people, you know. That’s all I want. I don’t wanna have beef with nobody. The last year was kinda cool. I’m always in the news doing something finding somebody. I just wanna have peace. That’s it."
However, Abdelaziz made an exception for controversial UFC superstar Conor McGregor, whom he could never make peace with. McGregor's extended feud with Nurmagomedov in the lead-up to their fight may have factored in the strong sentiment expressed by Abdelaziz.
"I can have peace with everyone except one person in this game. I will never have peace – you know who – it’s Conor McGregor. I will never have peace with this guy. He’s an idiot. This guy keeps sending me videos on Instagram, direct messages, we’re going back and forth… He’s a guy I will never have peace with. Maybe he find God or something, maybe we can have peace. But I’ll never have peace with this guy, ever."
Check out Ali Abdelaziz's comments below:
Ali Abdelaziz reveals Dana White's favorite fighter
Ali Abdelaziz revealed UFC president Dana White's favorite fighter in his interview with ESPN MMA.
Abdelaziz claimed that former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov commanded the most respect from White due to them never picking their own opponent.
He also lauded Usman's willingness to challenge himself at any weight. He said:
"Dana White's favourite fighter is Kamaru Usman. 100%. Khabib and Kamaru Usman, I never seen Dana give more respect to them than these guys. Because they never choose opponent, they don't care who they fight and Kamaru especially. Khabib, he has to cut the weight, he needed time. Kamaru don't care. Middleweight, welterweight, light heavyweight, he was willing to fight Jan Blachowicz as light heavyweight and Kamaru is going to go down, he's the greatest welterweight of all time."
Check out his full interview below on YouTube (15:00):