Why Ali Abdelaziz Is Bad For MMA

Ali Abdelaziz might be a powerful MMA manager, but that doesn't make him good for the sport

I recently tweeted a list of reasons why I believe Ali Abdelaziz, who manages a large stable of MMA fighters, is bad for the sport of MMA. I'm going to expand on those reasons here and provide a bit more detail as to why I feel the way I do about Abdelaziz. 

If there is one fight manager who represents himself poorly in public, it is Abdelaziz. As an example, watch the video TMZ released in April when Abdelaziz and Kamaru Usman came across Colby Covington in the buffet line at a Las Vegas casino shortly after Usman became the UFC welterweight champion. Usman has to try and prevent his manager from going after Covington. From all appearances, it seems as if Abdelaziz does throw a punch at Covington as well. 

I can't fathom why a professional manager would feel the need to act in this manner. It's embarrassing to him, to the sport and it should also be embarrassing to the fighters he represents. 

Abdelaziz's social media presence also leaves something to be desired. He regularly gets into Twitter beefs with fighters he doesn't represent. For instance, in May, Abdelaziz got into it with Tony Ferguson. 

Thankfully, Ferguson disengaged from the "discussion" quickly. Again, for a professional manager, it was a bad look.

I mentioned that Abdelaziz has a cozy relationship with the promoters who pay his fighters. In August, Steven Marrocco did an excellent job in detailing the perceived favoritism the Professional Fighters League (PFL) gives Abdelaziz. That story mentions that before the World Series of Fighting (WSOF) rebranded as PFL, Abdelaziz served as de facto matchmaker for WSOF, which was a clear conflict of interest. Since the rebrand, Abdelaziz has seemed to get better treatment than other managers. The article is worth reading in its entirety. 

One of the things that stood out to me in Marrocco's piece was a quote from PFL president Ray Sefo. Sefo, explaining why he deals with Abdelaziz more than other managers, said Abdelaziz does not use PFL as "leverage, or a stepping stone, like a lot of people do."

But isn't that what a manager is supposed to do? The manager's job is to leverage power and use offers from other promotions to get the best deal for their fighter. If they aren't using that leverage and are only dealing with one promotion, how is that working in the best interest of the fighter? It isn't.

I can understand why Sefo would like that. If Abdelaziz isn't using any leverage in negotiating with PFL, it's not a stretch to assume that Sefo is getting fighters cheaper from Abdelaziz than he is from other managers. Maybe that's one of the reasons that Abdelaziz's fighters made up a reported 50 percent of the second PFL season. 

Abdelaziz has also been a bit too friendly with the UFC. 

One of the reasons athlete pay has increased in many sports is because full salaries and bonuses are disclosed in those sports. That's not the case for the UFC. I have long advocated for disclosing full salaries for fighters thinking that it will increase pay for everyone. Abdelaziz does not agree with that. In fact, he claimed disclosing pay would be harmful to the fighters.

In the UFC antitrust lawsuit, Abdelaziz stated:

"The terms of fighters' contracts are typically subject to a confidentiality provision. For many of the fighters I represent, the confidentiality of these terms is very important. Many fighters do not want the terms of their contracts — including compensation and benefits — to be publicly disclosed

"For some fighters, public disclosure of such information raises legitimate safety concerns for them and their families, including making them targets of kidnapping and extortion schemes. In addition to safety concerns, some of the fighters I represent have communicated to me the desire to keep their compensation, benefits, and obligations under the contract confidential for privacy and other reasons, including to avoid requests for money from friends and family.

"Public disclosure of the terms and compensation of fighters' agreements may also hinder me in obtaining the best possible deal for a fighter and give a strategic advantage to MMA Promoters in negotiations with fighters, which may ultimately work to the detriment of the fighter."

That is a ridiculous statement. LeBron James has his salary disclosed. That alone should be enough to disprove any of Abdelaziz's statements.

What's most disturbing about Abdelaziz's statement, is the UFC used it during the ongoing antitrust suit. A manager should not be on the side of the promotion when it comes to the money that promotion is, or in this case, isn't paying its fighters.

Lastly, Abdelaziz loves to promote himself. He never misses the opportunity to get his face on camera or his voice on a radio show. Well, as long as that camera or radio show won't push him on any of his unsavory dealings. 

In closing, I should say that Abdelaziz's fighters seem devoted to him. That's fine, but that doesn't mean he's good for them or the sport of MMA. 

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