While several Dominance MMA fighters will be in action during the PFL post-season, don’t expect Dominance MMA’s Ali Abdelaziz to be in attendance.
MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has been making headlines lately, for all the wrong reasons. Facing a pair of battery charges stemming from separate incidents involving Colby Covington and rival manager Abe Kawa, Abdelaziz, the manager of stars like Frankie Edgar, Kamaru Usman, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, should probably be more worried about the courtroom than the cage. And he’ll have some extra time on his hands now to think on that, as he’s been banned from the PFL’s post-season events.
The move comes after Abdelaziz allegedly assaulted Kawa at PFL 7 last week. The resulting battery charge and rush of bad publicity focusing on one of MMA’s least popular figures has forced the league to give him the cold shoulder, despite a number of Dominance MMA fighters competing for the promotion.
In a statement provided to ESPN, the league stated that “at league direction, Ali Abdelaziz will not be attending upcoming postseason events. Given the fact this is a legal matter, the league has no further comment at this time.”
Asked for clarification by Cageside Press regarding the length of Ali’s ban, and whether it would extend to the end of any legal proceedings against Abdelaziz, PFL Director of Communications Greg Savage declined comment, citing the League’s concern that it was a legal matter.
Speaking to ESPN, Abdelaziz claimed he did not wish to attend this week’s PFL show. “I spoke to PFL executives earlier this week and I don’t want this story to be about me,” he told the sports network, which is the U.S. broadcast home of the PFL.
