“I’m away from my kids” - Ali Abdelaziz’s management company under fire for bullying at Bellator 300 by prominent MMA journalist

Ali Abdelaziz is a widely known figure in the mixed martial arts world, renowned as the founder and president of Dominance MMA Management. The management firm represents numerous highly accomplished fighters in the sport.

Combat sports journalist James Lynch made waves when he accused Ali Abdelaziz and his Dominance MMA Management team of alleged bullying during the Bellator 300 event last week.

In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Lynch revealed his experience at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California, where he covered the event. However, he detailed an encounter with Firdavs Khalim, a member of Dominance MMA, who reportedly warned him not to ask any questions to Usman Nurmagomedov, a client of Abdelaziz, during the post-fight press conference:

"I'm basically posted up in the back. I'm doing the post-fight. And one of Ali Abdelaziz’s right-hand men, one of the other managers, Firdavs comes up to me and basically tries to intimidate me and tells me point blank, 'You cannot ask Usman any questions at the press conference'."[from 0:34]

He added:

"This management team, if you go lookup, at the incidents that have happened with fighters and other media members, they do cause drama and I don't want to be involved in any of that. I'm away from my kids, I'm covering this event. I'm here to do a good job and I don't want to be involved in any of that." [from 3:30]

Check out Lynch's entire video below:

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Does Ali Abdelaziz have a checkered past?

Ali Abdelaziz's agency represents numerous current and former UFC champions, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, Islam Makhachev and Henry Cejudo. However, due in large part to allegations of a questionable past, Abdelaziz has sparked controversy within the MMA community.

These accusations gained significant attention when Conor McGregor famously accused Abdelaziz of misconduct before his fight against Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in 2018.

According to various media reports, Abdelaziz was allegedly enlisted by the New York Police Department (NYPD) for undercover work within a group known as Muslims of America, based in Virginia. The NYPD also reportedly shared Abdelaziz's services with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

However, the FBI allegedly began to harbor suspicions that he might have been functioning as a double agent. These doubts intensified after Abdelaziz reportedly underwent a polygraph examination. Due to the allegations, McGregor referred to him as a "terrorist snitch" and subjected him to public humiliation.