"I truly respect him" - Ali Abdelaziz praises "big brother" Dana White for giving him an opportunity

Ali Abdelaziz is a renowned MMA manager who has relationship with Dana White. He and the UFC president have been doing business together since 2009.

Abdelaziz began his work as a manager by taking care of Renzo Gracie back in 2006. In 2009, he made contact with the UFC on the Brazilian’s behalf, which is how his relationship with Dana White began.

Abdelaziz elaborated on the matter during an interview with Sherdog, saying:

“When Renzo wanted to fight Matt Hughes in 2009, he said, 'I want to go meet UFC.' And I said I don’t know anybody. I didn't know anything about Joe Silva, Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta. And I reached out to Joe Silva, and Joe Silva said, 'above my big rig,' you have to talk to Lorenzo and Dana… And these guys opened the doors for me and Renzo. I think everything was set through the shift room already and these guys just wanted to be nice to me. And having a meeting with them and honestly, the rest is history.”

Next, the manager spoke on the importance of Dana White in his life:

“Since then, you know, Dana has been a huge part of my life as a mentor and as a friend; as a big brother to me. And I know the promoter and the manager supposed to have this amazing beef, but I truly respect him. And I remember the way he met me, when I was zero. And him and Lorenzo, they treat me so well. I’m still [in touch] with Lorenzo. He’s a great man and Dana’s a great man and I feel, you know, these guys very much gave me an opportunity.”

Watch Ali Abdelaziz talk about his relationship with Dana White in the video below:

Abdelaziz is the founder and CEO of Dominance MMA Management, which represents various MMA fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje, Kamaru Usman, Henry Cejudo, and Kayla Harrison.

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Ali Abdelaziz shares a picture of him and Zabit Magomedshapirov

Former UFC featherweight contender Zabit Magomedshapirov recently announced his retirement from the sport of mixed martial arts. He was also one of Ali Abdelaziz’s clients, so the manager took the opportunity to post a photo of them on the day that Magomedshapirov signed his UFC contract.

In the caption, Abdelaziz emphasized the Russian’s rise in popularity and thanked him for the opportunity to help guide his career.

Magomedshapirov stacked up a 18-1 MMA record and was undefeated in the UFC, winning all six of his fights in the octagon. He defeated notable names like Jeremy Stephens and Calvin Kattar, which placed him as high as No.3 in the featherweight rankings.