Ali Abdelaziz ‘flattered’ by push to manage Jon Jones: ‘Jon knows my number’
Ali Abdelaziz would be happy to advise Jon Jones after the former UFC champ’s split with First Round Management, even if it’s not in an official capacity.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC), a former multi-time UFC light heavyweight champion, announced Monday that he’s parting ways with his longtime team at First Round Management, headed by Malki and Abraham Kawa. The news came in the midst of what appears to be a drawn-out hardball negotiation between Jones and the UFC brass to secure an anticipated heavyweight title fight with Francis Ngannou.
Since Ngannou claimed the UFC belt from Stipe Miocic at UFC 260, Jones has been very vocal on social media about his financial demands and wanting a bigger piece of payment to move up a weight class and fight one of the biggest power punchers the sport has ever seen.
Abdelaziz, who runs Dominance MMA and its star-studded roster of clients, thinks Jones is handling the situation the wrong way.
“I think Jon has been representing himself for the last three years anyway,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “I don’t know why this news is late. Anyway, it’s none of my business who Jon is managed (by), not managed (by). I got tagged so many times on Instagram and Twitter – I’m flattered, I’m honored. I wish nothing but the best for Jon Jones. I think Jon is a good guy – misunderstood a lot. And I hope – Dana White is not this hard to work with. I’m telling you. I’ve known this man for 16 years, but you can’t, somebody with Jon Jones’ caliber and his mystique, one of the greatest ever, he should not have to argue over Twitter about what he deserves or not deserve. You don’t talk business online.”
For better or worse, Abdelaziz has a history of successfully striking deals with the UFC. His clients almost unanimously praise his efforts in the public, but in order to reach that point, he said there’s a give and take.
It’s Abdelaziz’s philosophy that doing business in the public eye is never the way to go, and if it were up to him, Jones and UFC president Dana White would get in a room and hash out the details.
“Listen, Dana White is undefeated, one of the biggest draws we’ve ever seen – he’s undefeated in public feuds,” Abdelaziz said. “Jon Jones is one of the greatest fighters we’ve ever seen. He is a legend. Beyond a legend. I believe – listen, all these guys deserve a lot more money. It’s fine. If he thinks he deserves it, sit down with Dana White, you and him, shut everyone out and talk to him. He might disagree, but at the end of the day big business can be done behind closed doors. Big business doesn’t get done in the media. It makes me sad.
“I know Jon’s coaches. I know everybody. Does Jon deserve to get paid? Yes. 100 percent. How much or not how much? This is something that can be figured out. It’s a negotiation. I never left the table at a UFC negotiation when I was not happy. Both sides have to be happy, because if both sides are not happy, it will never be good. I feel for Jon Jones, but if I could give him advice: Get offline, get on a plane, go to Dana and sit down and talk to him one-on-one. Dana’s easy to talk to. People think Dana’s this monster. He actually is a really good dude, and Jon is a good dude.
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“When two people sit down together – if you tell me Dana White doesn’t respect Jon Jones, I think he does. The fight to make is Jon Jones and Francis Ngannou. This fight can do at least 1.5 million pay-per-view buys. Make a deal, a performance deal. It makes so much money and I hate to see this fight not happening and I think Francis deserves a big fight. Jon Jones definitely earned the title shot. And Dana has a lot of good, level-headed people around him, too. Hunter (Campbell) is level-headed, Mick (Maynard) is level-headed. Dana’s upset, somebody else can jump in and make the deal. But, Dana’s the boss. He’s the shot-caller. You can go talk bad to him, he can talk bad to you. He’s lying, he’s saying this and this. But realistically, you’re a GOAT, and you deserve better than fighting people online.”
Abdelaziz said he won’t chase down Jones to join Dominance MMA. He’s happy to help with Jones’ negotiation toward an Ngannou fight, even if he doesn’t become part of his clientele. It’s something that’s happened before, and whatever Jones views as the best move for his interests, Abdelaziz said he’s available to be contacted.
“I wish nothing but the best for Jon, and I’m flattered my name come up,” Abdelaziz said. “But I think Jon is the only person that can help Jon. Everybody thinks I can do magic, and people even say, ‘I hate Ali Abdelaziz so much. But I think he can help Jon.’ Of course, if I can help anybody, I will help them. I help guys I don’t even manage. Georges St-Pierre, when he came back (to fight Michael Bisping), I flew on a private plane with Dana White to meet him and Ari Emanuel to get a deal one. I didn’t make a dollar off Georges. Georges probably made $10 million. And I love Georges, and it was an honor to help Georges St-Pierre. Jon knows my number. I’m sure he has a great team around him, great people advising him. But if (he needs) any advice, I will be more than happy to advise Jon out of respect. It doesn’t have to mean, ‘Oh, I want to sign Jon Jones. I want to be his manager.’
“At the end of the day, I never invite myself to a party. If somebody wants to invite me to their party, we can talk. But I wish him nothing but the best and I wish Dana just to sit with him and they can talk with each other. They can sit in the room. Dana hated Kamaru (Usman) at one point. My job is to make peace with the fighter and the promoter.”
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