Dominance MMA has been within the corner of among the most successful fighters in UFC history.
Because the long-time manager of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Ali Abdelaziz has experienced the best highs in the game of MMA.
Abdelaziz has helped put together some huge fights but after all, being closely connected to high-level fighters also brings about some difficult moments.
Having worked alongside the likes of Islam Makhachev and Justin Gaethje, whose future within the UFC is currently up within the air, there are a whole lot of highlights that one of the distinguished managers can look back on.
Nonetheless, for him, certainly one of his fighters’ accomplishments that he’s most pleased with is in regards to the setbacks that led to a remarkable comeback.
Ali Abdelaziz explains why Kamaru Usman’s win over Joaquin Buckley is certainly one of the wins he’s most pleased with
Kamaru Usman is a wonderful example of the highs and lows of mixed martial arts on the elite level.
After his dominant welterweight title reign was ended by a shocking final round knockout from Leon Edwards, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ went on to suffer three defeats in a row.
Usman fought through injuries during the perfect years of his profession but they eventually caught up with him, leading him to being inactive for over a 12 months and a half.
The 38-year-old returned last month where despite coming in because the underdog, he ended the winning streak of surging contender Joaquin Buckley with a dominant performance over five rounds.
In a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Podcast, Ali Abdelaziz told Usman why the lows that his fighter went through before bouncing back make it certainly one of the wins he’s proudest of, alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov’s victory over Conor McGregor in the most important UFC fight of all time.
“It really hurt me. Yeah, that actually took something from me. The 2 wins I’m so pleased with, when Khabib beat Conor and whenever you beat Buckley, not whenever you won the title.
“It was because I do know what this dude went through. Hip surgeries and knee surgeries and everybody write him off. He tried to come back back. He tried to work but he can’t work and that actually… The Leon fight, it really took a chunk out of me.”
Ali Abdelaziz admits that he didn’t want Kamaru Usman to fight Joaquin Buckley on his return
Earlier on within the podcast, Ali Abdelaziz spoke about Kamaru Usman’s return in Atlanta and the selection of Joaquin Buckley as an opponent.
During his time away from the Octagon, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was linked to lots of the division’s top names as a former champion.
Buckley had only recently emerged as a dangerous contender but his explosive power made him a dangerous test for the veteran.
Abdelaziz admitted throughout the interview that there have been several other candidates that he wanted his fighter to compete against over ‘Recent Mansa’.
“Truthfully, I wanted the Ian [Machado] Garry fight, like me personally, or [the] Shavkat [Rakhmonov] fight because Buckley scared me. He really did. He’s very dangerous and he’s not been taken down multiple time in any fight and he got right back up.”