Infamous MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz is accused of poaching athletes from other managers. UFC middleweight Chris Curtis came to his defense
Management is surely important in a professional career. They can guide the athlete and provide them with better opportunities in negotiating a match. One of the most popular managers is Dominance MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz.
Despite his controversial behavior, Ali Abdelaziz is a proficient MMA manager. He got famous during the altercation between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov leading up to UFC 229 in 2018.
Recently, Ali Abdelaziz got into several ongoing feuds including the Slim Trabelsi controversy and a feud with Helwani.
On Twitter, Xtreme Couture head coach Eric Nicksick is advising MMA athletes to be careful of a manager who tells them which coach and gym they should choose, implying that it’s none of the manager’s business.
“If you’re a fighter and you have a manager telling you what coach and gym you should train at, the first question you should ask is, “how is this directly benefiting my manager?”” Nicksick wrote.
Many agree that MMA managers should stick to negotiating contracts, finding sponsorship, scheduling appearance, and help promoting their athletes. The technical stuff shouldn’t be their concern. MMA fans were quick to speculate that Nicksick is talking about Ali Abdelaziz.
One Twitter user tagged Abdelaziz and changed the topic a bit, accusing him of trying to poach athletes from other management.
“Maybe it’s [because] you try to control where your fighters train & who they can do media with. Let’s not even talk about the fact you try & poach fighters from other management groups with promises of better contracts.” One user wrote.
UFC middleweight prospect Chris Curtis jumped in to defend Abdelaziz. He recalled one time where Abdelaziz, despite not being his manager, helped give him insight.
“I have to take Ali’s side here Joey. Like I have come to Ali before needing guidance and just help with management stuff. He never once tried to convince me to leave my management company. He sat down and helped me understand the situation better. Never tried to poach.” Curtis wrote.
But contrary to comments – it was probably not targeting Abdelaziz this time.
Former Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold has announced his retirement after his spectacular UFC 278 match with Paulo Costa. The match garnered much of the attention and has secured $50,000 bonuses for both Rockhold and Costa.
Rockhold criticized UFC President Dana White and the company in the run-up to the bout. Rockhold tried to give competitors tips for navigating the UFC’s business side.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Rockhold shared the advise he would give to MMA hopefuls:
“When you have managers that work for the f**king UFC, they ain’t going to stand up for you when you want that worth, when you want that f**king paycheck. When it really comes down to it, you don’t want just your win, your show, get your f**king worth.”
Rockhold added as he continued: