With UFC 280 only two more sleeps away, Ali Abdelaziz remains a staunch advocate for all his clients.
In an interview with ESPN MMA, Marc Raimondi asked Abdelaziz if he's confident that Beneil Dariush is next in line for the lightweight title shot if he wins his fight against Mateusz Gamrot on Saturday night.
Abdelaziz took quite a strong stance, stating that he would take it up with the UFC if Dariush was robbed off a title fight, especially because of Alexander Volkanovski. The MMA manager added that he would have backed off if it was someone like Conor McGregor who brings in massive revenue for the promotion, but not someone who "doesn't sell pay-per-views":
"If they don't give me this title fight, I'm gonna call the police on them. I'm gonna call the cops on the UFC. What do you mean? Of course, they have to give him the title shot. I understand this is a business. If it's Conor [McGregor] winning... okay, I understand, because it's too much money for me to tell [no] to UFC. But Alexander Volkanovski doesn't sell pay-per-views."
Alexander Volkanovski was announced as the backup fighter for the UFC 280 headliner, a position that Beneil Dariush had previously claimed to be his.
The featherweight champion has been pushing for his lightweight move for quite some time now, and getting to fight for the title straight away would be a cherry on top.
However, if Dariush wins against Gamrot, he would have secured eight consecutive wins at lightweight, thus staking a strong claim to the next title shot.
Abdelaziz didn't give a clear answer when he was asked about the backup fighter situation in the interview:
"We will see, we will see. If Charles Oliveira pulls out, we will see [who steps in]... The reason Beneil [Dariush] wanted Abu Dhabi - if anything happened for him to fill in."
Watch the full interview below:
Alexander Volkanovski confirms his next fight will "definitely" be for the UFC lightweight belt
Despite Ali Abdelaziz's bold statements, Alexander Volkanovski remains confident that he has bagged the next fight for the coveted UFC lightweight strap. Moreover, both current title challengers have shown interest in fighting him in the future with the belt on the line.
Oliveira suggested that they first fight for the 155lbs gold in Australia next year and then compete for Volkanovski's featherweight belt at the end of the year. Makhachev also agreed to travel Down Under to defend his belt against Volkanovski if he wins against 'do Bronx'.
Reacting to their comments, Volkanovski told MMA Junkie:
"Seems like my next fight will definitely be [for] the lightweight title. That's why I put myself in this position. Let's see what happens."
Watch the video below:
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Edited by Aziel Karthak
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