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Kayla Harrison's manager Ali Abdelaziz has been accused of cheating by Larissa Pacheco's team in the aftermath of their fight on the PFL Championship card that concluded this past weekend.
Abdelaziz, a powerhouse in the management sphere of combat sports, was documented giving advice to Kayla Harrison from a neutral corner. In MMA, it is illegal for team members or management staff to yell out instructions. The sanctioned cornermen are the only authorized professionals to give directions.
Watch Ali Abdelaziz yell out instructions from the neutral corner to Kayla Harrison below:
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Pachico's team was aggravated by Abdelaziz's actions and protested immediately. However, the president of Dominance MMA management turned deaf ears to the appeal.
Pacheco's manager Alex Davis was aggrieved by Abdelaziz's actions and lashed out at him on a recent episode of The MMA Hour:
"So, what happened there was the manager came to the neutral side and started giving instructions. There’s two problems with that. One, you’re giving her [Kayla Harrison] instructions. It’s a third corner. Second, Pacheco could not hear her corner because you had someone yelling nearby and he was getting right up near the cage. He walks up blatantly and starts giving instructions from there."
Davis continued:
"Then I got up and told him and said, 'Get back to your corner.' Then he tells me, "Go f**k yourself." I went to get the official, the official went up to him, he brushed the official off, then I went and got the commissioner. All during the fight and I’m in [Pacheco’s] corner."
Davis further applauded the New York athletic commission for reacting promptly and stopping Abdelaziz from continuing to yell instructions from the neutral corner. In the end, Pacheco pulled off a major upset and won the 2022 PFL women's lightweight tournament by unanimous decision.
Catch Davis' comments on Ali Abdelaziz below:
Check out the full interview on The MMA Hour below:
MMA fans remind Ali Abdelaziz about the promise he made if Kayla Harrison loses
Back in May 2021, Ali Abdelaziz made an audacious claim suggesting that if his client Kayla Harrison were to ever lose in MMA, the Dominance MMA founder would leave the sport.
This past weekend, the two-time Olympic gold medalist lost to Larissa Pacheco at the 2022 PFL women's lightweight tournament. The Brazilian snapped Harrison's 15-fight undefeated streak in their rematch three years later.
MMA fans were quick to remind Abdelaziz of the promise and reacted with hilarious comments. One fan wrote:
"Thank you for your service to MMA. What will you do next?"
Another fan wrote:
"This means I shouldn’t have to see you on my feed anymore right?"
Even MMA journalist Ariel Helwani asked Abdelaziz about the status of the commitment.
Check out some of the reactions below:
