Very dark and disturbing news has come to light surrounding the promising UFC welterweight prospect Abdul Razak Alhassan.
It has been reported by the Star-Telegram (more detail inside) that Alhassan has been indicted on charges for sexual assault and accused of driving two intoxicated women home from the Varsity Tavern where he worked as a bouncer in March, then raped both women inside one of their homes. Alhassan was set free from the arrest in April on a $20,000 bond.
One of Alhassan’s attorneys, Daniel Hagood, filed a motion in May requesting that the judge modify Alhassan’s bond conditions to remove the requirements that he wear a GPS monitor and that he be restricted from traveling outside of Tarrant County without court approval.
In his motion, Hagood argued that Alhassan “has achieved notable success in the MMA fighting realm and has come to depend on his MMA career as his main source of income.”
He said the GPS monitor prohibits Alhassan from fighting in matches or even practicing and training for fights. The monitor also does not allow him to submerge himself in a swimming pool or hot tub, which Hagood calls “integral” to Alhassan’s training and physical therapy.
“The Defendant fully comprehends the severity of the charges against him and does not make this request of the Court lightly,” Hagood wrote. “However, if he is not able to have the GPS monitor removed, he will lose the MMA career that he has diligently worked towards for many years, and perhaps even more importantly, he will be unable to support himself without the income from that career, which he relies upon.”
The judge agreed to let Alhassan remove his GPS monitor for fights and training, but only when outside of Tarrant County, officials say.
The 33-year old Ghanian is currently 10-1 in his MMA career and has fought once for the UFC since this incident. That time being as recently as earlier this month at UFC 228 when he defeated Niko Price via first-round knockout.
Alhassan’s two accusers are friends of the ages 20 and 22. They reported the sexual assaults to the Fort Worth police on March 24 and 25 after they went to the John Peter Smith Hospital for sexual assault exams.
The investigation was later handed off to the Saginaw police following a preliminary investigation that had revealed the assaults took place at one of the women’s homes in Saginaw.
The 22-year-old woman described to the investigators that she “was so out of it that she didn’t remember anything about the night of the alleged assault”. The younger woman of the two told the police that she remembered Alhassan “forcefully raping, then sexually assaulting her friend”.
The Varsity Tavern’s general manager Jesse Fonseca said on Tuesday that Alhassan quit working at the bar months ago. “He said he had some personal stuff to go through and that was it,” Fonseca said.
Fonseca stated that he only recently learned about the sexual assault case against Alhassan and did not comment on the allegations.
The UFC has yet to make any statements in regards to Alhassan.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 9/26/2018