Ali Abdelaziz believes that he has a whole host of fighters on the books that possess the same kind of talent as UFC star Khamzat Chimaev.
Over the course of the last few weeks, Chimaev has made an incredible impact on the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a record two wins in 10 days. As many fans and media members continue to speculate over what his ceiling could be, the man himself seems to be pretty focused on getting his head down and getting back to work.
It’s well known that the aforementioned Abdelaziz has a string of top stars on his roster, and during a recent interview with Asian MMA, he wasn’t afraid to mention that fact.
“Everybody that comes out, comes out, right? Everybody says, ‘where has this guy been?’. I got ten Khamzat’s. But the guy really to look out for right now, nobody knows him. It’s Usman Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s younger brother who’s fighting in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
“He’s 9-0, all finishes, he’s an absolute killer. He’s a muay thai specialist, and he’s Khabib’s brother, you understand? And also, if you have the same blood as Khabib, you have good wrestling. I’m telling you, he is actually a better version than Khabib. He is better than Khabib. And I’m telling you, people should watch out for him, he’s an absolute killer, he’s got the striking, he’s got the grappling, he’s got the jiu-jitsu, he’s got the look, he’s got the swagger.”
Abdelaziz has been openly expanding his horizons in recent months, including a partnership with ONE Championship that he discussed with BJPENN.com.
“I’ve known Chatri for seven, eight years,” Ali Abdelaziz told BJPENN.com. “He’s one of Renzo Gracie’s students, and everybody knows I’m a black belt under Renzo. I’ve seen how ONE Championship has grown leaps and bounds, and [Sityodtong] has become one of the best promoters in the world, putting on some of the best fights in the world.
“ONE Championship always has a different feel to it. I always watch ONE shows,” he added. “It’s nice to work with [an organization] you like. I’m a fan of a lot of fighters in ONE. There are a lot of great fighters. They have a lot of big names.
“I think it’s late, we should have been working together earlier. Chatri even said that, and I agree with him. We should have been working together a long while back.”