Video! Pettis, Ali Allegedly Separated By Police At PFL 7 (Updated)

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Things got a little extra saucy between Anthony Pettis’ team and mixed martial arts (MMA) manager Ali Abdelaziz during last night’s (Fri., Oct. 11, 2019) PFL 7 event from inside Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, as both sides were reportedly caught up in altercations that required law enforcement to step in.

The first incident was reported by MMA Junkie, which discovered that Abdelaziz and Anthony Pettis’ manager, Abe Kawa, were allegedly involved in a physical incident backstage. While no major injuries were reported and the details of the altercation are still a little hazy, Abdelaziz — who runs Dominance MMA — is the one who reportedly initiated the physical contact by slapping Kawa in the face, per ESPN.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any details on what happened,” PFL EVP business affairs and general counsel Jim Bramson told MMA Junkie. “We were obviously focused on the action that was going on inside the cage. It was kind of a riveting evening.

“We are aware that there was an incident that occurred. They went and checked it out. The Metropolitan police and the hotel security were handling the situation, and we will be following up with them to get more details later.”

According to comments issued by the Las Vegas Police Department (obtained by MMA Junkie), one party was temporarily detained and investigated for battery:

“Two subjects were involved in a brief physical altercation where a battery was committed. LVMPD officers were on scene and temporarily detained one of subjects during the investigation. That subject was cooperative. He was issued a citation and released. No enforcement action was taken regarding the second subject, who was also cooperative. There were no significant injuries.”

In addition to the backstage scuffle with Kawa, Abdelaziz allegedly had an altercation with Pettis himself, who was also in attendance for the PFL 7 event. The incident can be seen below, as the former UFC lightweight champion and Abdelaziz (seen in green) are separated on the event floor:

While new details are likely to emerge from this situation, it remains a yet another questionable look for Abdelaziz. The controversial MMA manager, who oversees fighters such as UFC champions Khabib Nurmagomedov and Kamaru Usman, has already been part of some extracurricular activities in 2019. Just this past March, Abdelaziz and Usman were caught on camera going after UFC welterweight Colby Covington on a Las Vegas buffet line.

After learning of the incident at PFL 7, Malki Kawa, brother of Abe, delivered the following message about Abdelaziz via Twitter:

“One day (really soon) I’ll tell you guys the truth about my “altercations” with that rat. But so we’re clear, he never KO’d me, never dazed me, never did anything but throw a sucker punch and then I got grabbed.”

“Second altercation ended up with me soccer kicking him in the head. He threw a kick I caught, and Forrest came to break it up. He hit the ground, I kicked his head.”

“I never said anything because BOTH TIMES he called to apologize. Both time’s. Like a little bitch. But now I see he did that to avoid me pressing charges. Which I was never going to do….”

“But like I said, I’ll give all the details later. So we’re clear, any friend of his is an enemy of mine. We can fight all day, but coming at anyone in my family and you cross the line.”

Stick with Mania for more news on the PFL 7 altercations.