Ali Abdelaziz Fires Super-Duper Missile Into His Client's Bargaining Power
Or Man, That Is Not The Best Stance For A Manager
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It’s been a while, but Ali Abdelaziz has inspired me, as he often does…
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When Henry Cejudo announced his retirement after he defeated Dominick Cruz at UFC 249, there were some folks who thought it was a ploy to get a better deal out of the UFC. If that was the case, Cejudo’s manager, the “friendly” Ali Abdelaziz flushed those hopes down the crapper a week after Cejudo’s win.
Abdelaziz, whose actions sometime make me wonder just who he is working for, told TMZ, “I think Dana’s right: I think Henry’s been talking about retirement. Do I think Henry’s gonna retire? Absolutely not. I don’t think Henry’s gonna retire.”
(As an aside, what’s going on with the cables under Abdelaziz’s shirt? Weird time to do an interview…)
With that, Abdelaziz fired a super-duper missile into any bargaining power his own client had. This isn’t the first time Abdelaziz has actively campaigned against the best interests of his clients. Not long ago, PFL president Ray Sefo said he enjoyed working with Abdelaziz because he does not use the PFL as “leverage, or a stepping stone, like a lot of people do.” In simpler terms, Abdelaziz doesn’t do what a manager is supposed to do, which is get the best deal they can for their client by any means, which includes using one offer against another.
Even more egregious is that Abdelaziz took the side of the UFC in an antitrust lawsuit. Which is mindbogglingly anti-labor.
Fighters rarely have any power when it comes to the bargaining table. Whatever juice Cejudo had just got squeezed by his own manager. I’ll never be able to comprehend how Abdelaziz maintains the number of clients he has.
Do you know something about UFC, USADA, an MMA manager or a fighter, that I should know? You can email me at trent.reinsmith@gmail.com or contact me via secure messaging on Telegram at trentreinsmith.
