Ali Abdelaziz addressed the controversy surrounding Justin Gaethje’s UFC contract negotiations following UFC 324. He recently provided clarification in an interview on the apparent disconnect between Gaethje’s public statements and Dana White’s response.
When asked about the pre-bout drama where Gaethje stated he hadn’t received a million dollars in bonuses and wasn’t getting additional money for the Paramount card while White claimed they made an offer that went unanswered, Abdelaziz acknowledged both sides had valid points.
“Listen, I have rules. I don’t talk about financial business,” Abdelaziz said. “Dana was right. It was an offer we made, it was made but sometime for a little bit more money. I’m not… Dana was not lying but in reality, Justin maybe he was not okay with the offer you know. But everything worked out correctly. Nobody it was… Justin is good now, we get to talk now. We’ll get to talk.”
Abdelaziz explained that emotions run high during match week, affecting how contenders communicate publicly. “In a way I always saying for athlete or everybody have feelings. We all man, we have all testosterone and Justin is emotional, you know. And he speak, you know. Justin is not lying. I think nobody in the UFC deserve to make money than Justin Gaethje. I don’t give a s**t.”
The manager emphasized that financial discussions should remain private but understood the circumstances. “If you think you worth money, and you want to talk about it, we can talk about behind closed door. But I think nobody wins when people talk about money publicly.”
Abdelaziz insisted there was no actual conflict with the UFC despite the public back-and-forth. He said, “Justin Gaethje, love being a UFC star. Love to compete in the UFC. There’s no beef. There’s is no beef between the UFC and Justin Gaetjhe.”
Regarding whether contract negotiations need resolution before Gaethje’s next match, Abdelaziz confirmed discussions would continue. “If you deliver, I will try to negotiate. If you don’t deliver, I can’t negotiate.”
Abdelaziz maintained that Gaethje deserves top compensation in the organization. “Justin Gaetjhe is like every other athlete in the world. He want to get paid a lot of money. And if anyone deserve it is him and guess what? This is my job to negotiate for him and do what I can do. But at the end of the day, everybody’s good. Everybody’s happy.”
