Tag: Ali Abdelaziz

Islam Makhachev’s Training Partners Have To Be ‘Helped Emotionally’, Claims Manager

When Khabib Nurmagomedov made the decision to retire and vacate the UFC lightweight title, it meant that his teammate, Islam Makhachev, would get his time to shine. Following the title reign of Charles Oliveira that took place in-between, Makhachev ascended to the throne and he now sits atop the pound-for-pound rankings. Makhachev was always a […]

When Khabib Nurmagomedov made the decision to retire and vacate the UFC lightweight title, it meant that his teammate, Islam Makhachev, would get his time to shine. Following the title reign of Charles Oliveira that took place in-between, Makhachev ascended to the throne and he now sits atop the pound-for-pound rankings.

Makhachev was always a highly regarded competitor but he seems to make visual improvements each and every time that he steps inside the Octagon. A big reason for that and his consistency is because like his training partner and coach, he has an incredible work ethic and drive.

Fans have seen glimpses and heard stories about how hard Khabib works his team in the gym now that he’s leading the practices. With Makhachev set to headline UFC 311 on January 18 in a rematch with Arman Tsarukyan and Umar Nurmagomedov challenging for the bantamweight title in the co-main event, this has been no different during their residency at the UFC PI in Las Vegas.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz provided some insight regarding the kind of cycle that Makhachev puts his training partners through on a daily basis. He said that fighters have to take rest days after going head-to-head with the lightweight champion and that has only continued to grow in recent times.

“Listen, we have to give his training partners days off from training for them to be ready for sparring day. Seriously. We have to help guys emotionally… I grappled with him the other day and I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ I can hold my own against anybody in grappling, somebody my size. But I felt like I was a little kid playing with a bear. This is how I felt. I was like, ‘There’s no sense in me even training with this guy ever again.’ In a way I felt bad, because I’m a man. But in reality, I felt so confident, how good [Makhachev] is.”

Manager Explains Magomed Ankalaev’s Confidence About KOing Alex Pereira: ‘He Said…Izzy Can’t Even Wash My Boots In Striking’

For a long time now, fight fans have theorized that Magomed Ankalaev is the biggest threat to the current light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira. The #1-ranked contender has beaten a lot of top opposition but it was his recent win over Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308 which seemingly solidified his status as the next in […]

For a long time now, fight fans have theorized that Magomed Ankalaev is the biggest threat to the current light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira. The #1-ranked contender has beaten a lot of top opposition but it was his recent win over Aleksandar Raki? at UFC 308 which seemingly solidified his status as the next in line at long last.

However, the Raki? fight did also raise some concerns regarding the way that Ankalaev might approach a clash with “Poatan”. Throughout 2024, Ankalaev was very clear on the idea that in a fight with Pereira, he would stand and strike with him, believing that he would knock the champion out whilst many have made the case for why this wouldn’t be a smart approach.

The Russian traded with Raki? for all three rounds this past October even after he lost the first five minutes because he didn’t attempt to test his opponent’s grappling and though he came out on top, he was clearly going out of his way to prove a point. Ankalaev has shown himself to be a very effective striker but in the current titleholder, you’re talking about a hall of fame level kickboxer.

Ali Abdelaziz spoke in a recent interview with MMA Junkie about the confidence of the challenger right now in regards to his striking. As the manager of the number one contender, he said that his fighter is convinced that he will shock the world by stopping “Poatan” without using his grappling when they eventually go head-to-head.

“Ankalaev, what he told me, he said, ‘I’m not wrestling with [Pereira]. I’m gonna show everybody. Izzy can’t even wash my boots in striking. I’m gonna knock Alex Pereira out. Get the respect I’ve deserved for a long time.’ It’s a long task to strike with [Pereira] and knock him out. But I believe Ankalaev can do it.”

Dominick Cruz Clashes with Ali Abdelaziz, Calls the MMA Manager ‘Weak’

Dominick Cruz Clashes with Ali Abdelaziz, Calls the MMA Manager 'Weak'Dominick Cruz got into a heated back-and-forth with Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz after answering he would compete one…

Dominick Cruz Clashes with Ali Abdelaziz, Calls the MMA Manager 'Weak'

Dominick Cruz got into a heated back-and-forth with Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz after answering he would compete one final time in 2025.

Last week, ‘The Dominator’ revealed in an interview with TMZ Sports that he would return to the Octagon after the new year for one last dance on MMA’s biggest stage.

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“I think I got a last dance, I got one last dance in me, just to go out there and go have fun,” Cruz said. “And when I say ‘fun’ I mean ‘fight to the bitter death and see what I have in me.’ The fun comes months after that, that’s where it gets to set in and okay, that was fun.

“But I’m ready to walk into the fire again and see what life and death really looks like. And one more go at that would be a pleasure. So I’m building myself up, I’m at altitude, I’m out here in Mexico City [at the UFC Performance Institute]. Some of the best training I’ve ever had in my whole career.”

Following Cruz’s announcement, UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik took to social media and suggested a rematch with Henry Cejudo as the former two-time bantamweight titleholder’s swan song.

As it turns out, Anik’s suggestion sparked a war of words between Cruz and Abdelaziz, Cejudo’s manager. After Abdelaziz commented on Anik’s post saying a fight with Cruz would be “easy money for Henry,” ‘The Dominator’ snapped back.

Dominick Cruz

“You are simply a work mule…Your words hold no weight,” Cruz replied.

“Also, one more thing the only weight you hold is commentating on the desk, I promise you I hold a lot more weight than you in this game,” Abdelaziz wrote back.

“It’s easy money for you-as you get a percentage paid by your fighter no matter what, while you chat sh*t that you personally cannot back up,” Cruz clapped back. “You have no skin in the game, that’s what makes you weak.“

Abdelaziz says he won’t take a percentage from Cejudo if dominick cruz accepts the fight

After exchanging words, Abdelaziz said that if Cruz accepted the fight, he wouldn’t take a percentage of Cejudo’s purse.

“I will make you a deal if you fight Henry I will take zero percentage from,” Abdelaziz wrote. “I just want to see him whoop your ass and I’m sure Henry will make a lot more money than you do, you have my word as a man I will take zero percentage” (h/t BJPenn.com).

Cruz and Cejudo previously met at UFC 249 in May 2020. On that night, ‘Triple C’ scored a TKO over Cruz in the waning seconds of the second round to retain the bantamweight title. Cejudo then immediately vacated the belt, announcing he would be retiring from the sport.

Dominick Cruz

Since then, Cejudo has returned to the Octagon, losing back-to-back bouts against Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili.

Dominick Cruz Doesn’t Stand For Ali Abdelaziz’s Disrespect: ‘You Chat Sh*t That You Cannot Back Up’

In a recent interview with TMZ, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz stated that he wants to fight one last time before calling time on his career. Following a four-year break in activity, Cruz returned to the Octagon at UFC 249 in 2020 where he challenged Henry Cejudo for the 135-pound title. Since then, he […]

In a recent interview with TMZ, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz stated that he wants to fight one last time before calling time on his career. Following a four-year break in activity, Cruz returned to the Octagon at UFC 249 in 2020 where he challenged Henry Cejudo for the 135-pound title.

Since then, he has fought three more times, earning wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz before being stopped by Marlon Vera in August of 2022. “I’ll tell you, I think I got a last dance, I want one last dance in me,” Cruz told TMZ. “Just go out there and have fun, and when I say fun, I mean fight to the bitter death and see what I have in me.”

His fellow UFC commentator, Jon Anik, posting on X to suggest that a rematch with Cejudo four years down the line from their first meeting would be of interest. The post received a response from the often vocal Ali Abdelaziz who is Cejudo’s manager at Dominance MMA.

When Cruz replied to Abdelaziz calling this fight “easy money” for his fighter, the two men went back-and-forth in a series of posts.

Cruz continued to hit back at Abdelaziz and criticized him for trash talking other fighters when he doesn’t have to face any repurcusions because he still gets paid whether or not the clients that he manages win or lose.

“It’s easy money for you-as you get a percentage paid by your fighter no matter what, while you chat sh** that you personally cannot back up. You have no skin in the game, that’s what makes you weak.”

The argument continued with Cejudo also catching a few strays from Cruz who said that fighting him would be like “killing you two birds with one stone”.

“Look at your big tough guy words on X .You’re now talking about paying someone the % of money that you usually would steal from him, just to fight me for you, solely because you yourself can’t cash the checks you write with your big mouth. That’s exactly my point-that’s why you are a weakling. Henry is about as tiny a man in stature as you are mentally. You two deserve each other. Killing you two birds with one stone sounds like a lovely day of humanitarian work.”

As is often the case, Abdelaziz continued to reply until he had the last word, seemingly welcoming Cruz to do something about it physically the next time that they see each other in person.

Islam Makhachev’s Manager Puts Dana White’s P4P Stance Down To Promotional Tactics

The manager of Islam Makhachev believes Dana White’s attempt to downplay the UFC lightweight champion’s status as pound-for-pound best is entirely down to his efforts to promote Jon Jones. “Bones,” a former light heavyweight kingpin who captured the heavyweight gold in his divisional debut last year, is set to make his long-awaited return to defend […]

Continue Reading Islam Makhachev’s Manager Puts Dana White’s P4P Stance Down To Promotional Tactics at MMA News.

The manager of Islam Makhachev believes Dana White’s attempt to downplay the UFC lightweight champion’s status as pound-for-pound best is entirely down to his efforts to promote Jon Jones.

“Bones,” a former light heavyweight kingpin who captured the heavyweight gold in his divisional debut last year, is set to make his long-awaited return to defend the belt in the UFC 309 main event next month.

While Jones and the UFC CEO haven’t seen eye to eye in the past, White has been spreading stories of the heavyweight champ’s accolades and his continued superiority on podcasts and during interviews throughout this year.

Among White’s claims is the suggestion that the rankings panel have massively messed up by putting Makhachev in the pound-for-pound top spot over Jones.

During an interview with MMA Fighting, the Dagestani’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, provided his response to White’s continued dismissal of Makhachev as being worthy of the P4P crown.

“Listen, it’s the reason why Dana White is the pound-for-pound greatest promoter on this planet,” Abdelaziz explained. “Jon Jones is fighting next month. He’s fighting a guy (in Stipe Miocic), he’s probably going to be -800 against. (This is) the best way to promote this fight, to promote Jon Jones.

“Dana never promoted Jon Jones for some reason. But now he’s on Jon Jones’ wagon. Guess what? This promotes Jon Jones, too,” Abdelaziz continued. “He can say he’s the greatest of all time. Islam Makhachev right now currently is the pound-for-pound greatest fighter in the world by far. It’s not even second place. But Dana’s Dana. People think he’s talking gospel.”

White isn’t along in disagreeing with Abdelaziz’s take.

Makhachev’s expected next challenger, in-form Russian-Armenian contender Arman Tsarukyan, also put Jones above the lightweight champ while discussing the pound-for-pound order in a recent interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn.

Continue Reading Islam Makhachev’s Manager Puts Dana White’s P4P Stance Down To Promotional Tactics at MMA News.

Dana White Shuts Down Rumors of Conor McGregor Ducking Justin Gaethje: ‘I Don’t Know If That’s True’

Dana White Shuts Down Rumors of Conor McGregor Ducking Justin Gaethje: 'I Don't Know If That's True'Dana White isn’t buying Ali Abdelaziz’s recent claim that Conor McGregor turned down a fight with Justin Gaethje on…

Dana White Shuts Down Rumors of Conor McGregor Ducking Justin Gaethje: 'I Don't Know If That's True'

Dana White isn’t buying Ali Abdelaziz’s recent claim that Conor McGregor turned down a fight with Justin Gaethje on five different occasions.

During a recent interview with Submission Radio, Abdelaziz, the manager of top MMA fighters including Kayla Harrison, Kamaru Usman, Henry Cejudo, and Gaethje, claimed that the Irish megastar was offered to scrap with the former BMF titleholder, but refused to do so after ‘The Highlight’ had talked trash about him on social media.

Justin Gaethje

”[Conor McGregor] got offered this fight at least five times,” Abdelaziz said. “He never wanted to have to do anything with Justin Gaethje. He said the reason he didn’t want to fight Justin was because Justin talked bad to him on Twitter and Instagram before and the history we have with him. He didn’t want to lose to our team, I guess.”

Dana White disputes Abdelaziz’s claim about conor McGregor

Asked if there’s any truth to Abdelaziz’s comments, White denied the statement suggesting that the promotion has never had a problem with McGregor accepting a fight no matter who the opponent.

”I don’t know if that’s true,” White said following Tuesday’s episode of DWCS. “I’ve said this many times and I’ll say it again, I mean, we actually have video footage of Lorenzo and I walking into his [McGregor] house that he was renting here. He just woke up, telling him the fight fell out, and he’s literally leaving going, ‘Well, I’m going to train, let me know who I’m fighting when I get back.’ We’ve never had those kind of issues with Conor McGregor.’

McGregor may be willing to step inside the Octagon with anyone, the former two-division titleholder hasn’t made competing a big priority in recent years. In June, he was scheduled to headline UFC 303 against former Bellator champion ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler before bowing out due to a broken pinky toe.

Conor McGregor

Chandler has since opted to move on and will now face Charles Oliveira at UFC 309 next month. As for McGregor, there’s still no date for when fans can expect to see him compete. Previously, McGregor was rumored to fight at UFC 296 in December. When that didn’t happen, everyone assumed he would return at UFC 300 in April. Clearly, that didn’t happen.

Now early 2025 appears to be the plan, but don’t expect to find anyone holding their breath in anticipation.

Conor McGregor