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TMZSports.com
The man who manages Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov has a warning to Conor McGregor — you won’t get a title shot until you fight a top-tier opponent like Tony Ferguson.
Ali Abdelaziz — who also reps champs like Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo — says he’s sick and tired of Conor always trying to strong-arm himself into title fights that he doesn’t deserve.
“Right now, he’s on punishment for his bad behavior,” Ali tells TMZ Sports … “Right now, he needs to sit down.”
“Go fight Tony Ferguson, stay busy, stay active. Go fight Jorge Masvidal. Stay active, I want to see activity. Remember, he used to say that to all of us, guess what? Payback is a bitch.”
Obviously, Ali doesn’t believe Conor’s recent retirement announcement will stick — he thinks it’s just another attention grab.
“Same old prostitute, he wants attention.”
Ali says he’s unsure if either Khabib or Justin would even give Conor a shot — but an impressive performance against a guy like Tony Ferguson or Jorge Masvidal would help his case.
Ali also talked about the upcoming UFC 251 main event between his two clients Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns — and how they won’t let their friendship stand in the way of a ferocious brawl on Fight Island.
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“Best two fighters in the division that’s gonna fight. Buy the Pay-per-view and you’re gonna find out.”
“I got no prediction, you know where I’m gonna stand. I’m not picking sides here. I love both those guys equally. Kamaru’s my brother, I love Gilbert. I want them to fight each other, give each other a hug, both of them will be healthy and that’s it. That’s all I want.”