Ali Abdelaziz: Securing UFC Fight for Undefeated Star More Challenging Than Khabib Nurmagomedov

UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov’s longtime friend and manager Ali Abdelaziz has expressed his frustration at not being able to secure a matchup for his cousin, Umar Nurmagomedov. Currently ranked No. 14 in the UFC bantamweight division, Umar has not fought since January last year. Abdelaziz compared his situation to Khabib’s, remarking that it exceeded even what ‘The Eagle’ had to face with a lack of willing opponents.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the Dominance MMA CEO wrote, “@UNmgdv so much harder to get a fight then even Khabib I’ve been in this game over two years. I never seen this before.” Umar Nurmagomedov is undefeated in his 16-fight professional career, with four of those appearances inside the UFC’s octagon. Three of his UFC victories have come via a finish, and he also has two Performance of the Night bonuses.

On another note, Chael Sonnen recently commented on the UFC’s risk of losing lightweight champion Islam Makhachev prematurely, just like Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sonnen argued that if the promotion continues to rematch Makhachev against his opponents, they may not be able to retain him. Makhachev was anointed as Khabib’s successor before the latter’s retirement.

Sonnen stated, “Islam has already done a rematch. And now he is openly saying, I don’t want to do rematches. And they’re going to find a way, they’re going to roll Charles out, they will wrap him in bubble tape so he can’t put a paper cut above his eye… They’re going to do that match. And they’re going to find out a lot sooner than they would have to find out that Islam is done… I know if he keeps the schedule, he contractually has the right to have, which is three fights. If he keeps that in 2024, you’re not going to see him in 2025.”

Pete Braeburn
Pete Braeburn
Pete Braeburn is a fantasy sports contributor for King Fantasy Sports and an MMA news writer for SportsHQ.net

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