“You Have Been Banned!” – Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Manager Bans ESPN and TSN From Interviewing His Fighters

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz banned broadcast networks — ESPN and TSN — from interviewing Dominance MMA fighters.

Abdelaziz is well known for having a personal relationship with his fighters. He bonds with his athletes like no other manager. Although he is somewhat controversial, Ali keeps his fighters happy. He makes his fighters’ battles his own. And recently, he did just that.

Ali Abdelaziz drops a bombshell on ESPN

In his most recent tweets, the manager announced that he is banning ESPN from interviewing fighters under his contract.

According to BJPenn.com, the manager lost his cool after ESPN reporter Ariel Helwani said that Gilbert Burns should fight Leon Edwards before fighting for the welterweight championship.

It is worth noting that Burns was supposed to fight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 251. However, the company had to remove him from the event because his COVID-19 test returned positive.

Other than Helwani, Abdelaziz complimented other ESPN reporters. Ali said that he has no issues with Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi, and Jeff Wagenheim.

Furthermore, he also banned the Canadian sports channel, ‘The Sports Network’.

Though it seems like Helwani triggered Ali, the manager did not specify any names. He did not even state the reason. It is not clear whether the ban is permanent. Besides that, no statement has been made by ESPN, TSN, or the UFC.

How did the fans react to the news?

As always, Ali received mixed reactions from the MMA community. While some fans appreciated the move, others did not.

What is your reaction to the news?