When it comes to managing MMA fighters, the first name that comes to mind is Ali Abdelaziz. Of course, it was Khabib Nurmagomedov who pulled him into the world of fame, but it’s his active social media presence that keeps him in the headlines. Well, he seldom backs down from attacking Conor McGregor, anyone who stands against the Dagestani Team, and everyone under his management.

And that’s one of the reasons why his name carries quite a bit of controversial debates in the fighting community. But who exactly is Nurmagomedov’s former manager? If you’re also wondering the same, then you’re in the right spot. Today, let’s get to know everything there is to know about Ali Abdelaziz. And let’s begin with a peek into his past.

A comprehensive look into Ali Abdelaziz’s past 

Ali Abdelaziz was born on 5 December 1977 in Cairo, Egypt, and spent the major part of his childhood there. It was soccer and then Judo that took up most of his time. Later on, when he moved to the US in 1996, he began training in MMA and found his way to the amateur cage in 2003. He fought under the banner of Ring of Fire and K-1 Championship. He was active during 2004-2007. 

While his amateur bouts at ROF got him 2 back-to-back victories and pushed him toward the professional fighting arena, he couldn’t stand tall in the cage. Abdelaziz won his first bout in 2004 and debuted with a victory by guillotine choke in the very first round. However, the rest 3 of his fights resulted in defeats. 2 of them came via first-round finishes. 

With a 3-fight losing spree, Abdelaziz was suggested to start managing fighters instead of competing himself. Well, he had to do it. After all, it was a suggestion that came from Renzo Gracie himself. He started managing Gregor, Rolles, and Igor Gracie and eventually found his way to manage Renzo Gracie too.

His company Dominance MMA Management, which began in 2008, has surely come a long way. On top of that, he was also a part of WSOF as a matchmaker and the executive vice president. However, he left his position in 2015 and focused on his MMA management company. We’ll come back to his farewell from WSOF soon. But before that, let’s shine some light on the Egyptian MMA manager’s personal life. 

Ali Abdelaziz’s wife and kids

For those who are wondering, yes, Ali Abdelaziz is a married man. However, he has kept his family life private and nothing much is known to the public regarding that facet. And as far as children are concerned, he has 4 of them. But there’s a catch here. Back when Conor McGregor faced off against Khabib Nurmagomedov at the press conference for UFC 229, a hidden truth came out regarding Abdelaziz’s relationship with his son, Noah.

During the press conference, the manager and McGregor got into a heated battle of words. And just when Dana White asked Abdelaziz to leave, ‘The Notorious’ shouted, “You keep your mouth shut, kid. Let me take my picture. How’s Noah? How’s Noah? Yeah, shut your mouth. Never speak about me ever again. Watch yourself around me because you’ll be out of here quick.”

But what did that mean? Well, it turns out Noah and his father aren’t on speaking terms anymore. Back in 2018, Abdelaziz Jr. even shared a tweet where the MMA manager blocked his own son on X. But the secrets behind their scuffle is a mystery that Abdelaziz has guarded quite well. But is his relationship with Nurmagomedov a similar one? 

Ali Abdelaziz’s relationship with Khabib

Abdelaziz certainly holds ‘The Eagle’ on a pretty high pedestal in his life. Back in 2022, when Nurmagomedov received the entry ticket to the UFC Hall of Fame, Cageside Press asked the Egyptian the reason why he liked the Dagestani so much. He replied, “He come to my life when I was lost and now I become a better person being around him. I become a better person being around him. And I owe so much to him, me, my family, owe a lot to him. I’m a manager. I’m supposed to show a lot of good things to him and I tried. But he teached me a lot about life.”

Well, we can safely say that it was the former UFC undefeated lightweight champion who boosted Abdelaziz’s popularity in the fighting community. Their bond grew stronger with time, as the 47-year-old manager continuously defended the Dagestani team from their rivals on social media. And that’s what strengthened Dominance MMA Management as well. 

Back in 2020, Abdelaziz said, “Dominance MMA is not for everybody. It’s for a certain kind of people. If you come here you have to be on the same page as each other. They have to respect each other. They have to be part of the team.” Of course, not everyone passed through the sieve. This created some bad blood between some entities and Abdelaziz. But his biggest beef came alive because of his undying support for Nurmagomedov. Of course, we’re talking about McGregor.

Ali Abdelaziz’s beef with Conor McGregor and other controversies

‘Mystic Mac’ sent a shockwave through the world when he called Abdelaziz a “f—ing snitch, terrorist, rat” at the UFC 229 pre-fight press conference. McGregor revealed that he was found with 5 passports when he was caught up in a flight from Cairo to New York, back in 2001. It turned out that he was an informant. The NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence, David Cohen, recruited Abdelaziz while he was serving his time in prison in Colorado in 2002, on charges of document forgery.

He had to work undercover and bring in information from a Virginia-based group called Muslims of America. He came to be known as Confidential Informant 184, and his work has been highlighted in the books ‘Enemies Within’ and ‘Twilight in America’. And this public allegation naturally escalated the blood between the duo. This even forced Ali to brand the Dubliner as an “evil human being.”

Needless to say, it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t like McGregor. However, that didn’t push him away from promising to give the Irishman his credit if he did something good. While things never settled completely between McGregor and the Dagestani team, a terror incident at Eagles MMA urged McGregor to lash out at his former opponent.

It was a time when Nurmagomedov’s tax evasion controversy was roaring on the internet when a member of his gym was found to be involved in terror attacks in Dagestan. While ‘The Eagle’ sent his condolences to the families of the victims, McGregor lashed out at Nurmagomedov in a series of tweets. However, he ended up deleting all of them except one which read, “#Conorwasright” To this, Abdelaziz replied, “I can’t wait to see you and spit in your face you b—h.” It’s a beef that will continue forever, don’t you think?

But the Dominance MMA Management president was also in several other controversial talks. During his tenure as the executive vice president and matchmaker for WSOF, he was accused of exploiting his position as a matchmaker. Apparently, there were some conflicts of interest and potential violations of Nevada Athletic Commission regulations. In 2019, he entered a contract lawsuit with Vitaly Minakov. The lawsuit accused Abdelaziz and the former Bellator champ of breaching an exclusive agent agreement with RusFighters.

According to the agreement, Minakov should pay 20% of his gross performance compensation to RusFighters. But Minakov, through Abdelaziz, got inducted into Bellator FC. The new contract obligated the former champ to fight 6 bouts. The compensation for these was around $300K per fight. That’d be an immensely massive amount!

Back in 2023, when the world was targeting Islam Makhachev for using IV fluids to rehydrate himself before UFC 284, Abdelaziz’s tweet got him into a bit of trouble. Trying to defend the lightweight champ, the manager wrote, “For all those idiots out there, any fighter under the UFC banner can take 2-3 liters of IV as long as it’s done by a nurse or a professional, next week I’m gonna expose everybody.” But soon, he deleted the tweet.

Later, Ariel Helwani cleared the air out by mentioning that the fighters are allowed to take 100 ml of fluid per 12 hours, not 2-3 liters a day. No wonder he deleted the tweet. Nevertheless, Abdelaziz found his success in getting fights for his clients, despite the controversies that he has gotten himself into. But who are the fighters that the Egyptian-American manages? Let’s take a look.

Islam Makhachev, Kamaru Usman, and other fighters Ali Abdelaziz manages

After gaining managerial experience from Renzo Gracie, Abdelaziz got the chance to manage former champions like Nurmagomedov, of course, Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje, Henry Cejudo, and others. Currently, he ensures that Makhachev, Umar Nurmagomedov, and others from Team Khabib receive the fights that are best for the growth of their professional career. He also has Kayla Harrison under his wing, along with Lance Palmer. 

Well, there are more than 150 fighters on Dominance MMA Management’s roster. With a family-like culture, Abdelaziz has grown his company to the level of elites. Even Dan Ige and Rizvan Magomedov work in his company to help the athletes. Coming to that, let’s shine some light on the Egyptian’s finances, shall we?

Ali Abdelaziz’s net worth

The 47-year-old has a net worth of $3 million. With a massive roster, income pours in via the fighters’ earnings, promotional deals, and brand endorsements. And the fighters under his management, have seldom complained about their brand sponsorships. No doubt, the Egyptian doesn’t have to worry about money anymore. 

With his reputation and connections, Abdelaziz has successfully secured lucrative contracts for his fighters. And that’s the secret to his success, which makes him an integral part of the UFC family. 

But what do you think of Abdelaziz? Do you think Dominance MMA Management is key to UFC’s success? Let us know what you think of the manager in the comments down below.