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Team Khabib manager claims Conor McGregor DUCKED Hall of Famer lightweight champion

Originally posted on FirstSportz
By Safeer Marottickal Sakeer | Last updated 5/18/24

Conor McGregor has created a lot of controversy inside and outside the UFC. However, CEO Dana White has always stated McGregor was the easiest fighter to do business with. Moreover, he claimed that McGregor was willing to fight anybody at any time. However, retired UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov ‘s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, begs to differ.

Abdelaziz is now one of the top managers in MMA with his team, Dominance MMA. He has a deep stable of fighters who are superstars in the UFC and other promotions. McGregor’s fierce rivalry with Nurmagomedov also resulted in animosity towards Abdelaziz. Nonetheless, the manager recently revealed McGregor has ducked an opponent, contrary to what Dana White has said.

Dana White always say Conor fought anybody, anywhere, anytime. This is bullsh*t. He was supposed to fight Frankie [Edgar] multiple times, and he ducked Frankie 100%. Ali Abdelaziz via Champ and the Tramp

Abdelaziz asserted the UFC shielded McGregor from Edgar. He stated the UFC didn’t ask Edgar to step in for the injured Jose Aldo to fight McGregor at UFC 189. Instead, they wanted Chad Mendes to step in even though Mendes was not in any training camp while Edgar was continuously training.

Abdelaziz cited Edgar as a nightmare matchup for Karate style striker like Conor McGregor. He cited Edgar’s victories over Yair Rodriguez and Charles Oliveira as proof of his claim. Edgar had an exciting fighting style, and many fighters considered him their favorite fighter.

Ali Abdelaziz reveals two fighters on his roster who has Frankie Edgar as their favorite fighter

Frankie Edgar was the recent inductee into the UFC Hall of Fame along with Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Edgar was the UFC’s lightweight champion after he upset the odds to defeat BJ Penn . He defended the title thrice before losing to Benson Henderson .

After losing to Henderson in a rematch, he moved to featherweight and fought twice for the title but was unsuccessful. In the latter stage of his career, he even moved to bantamweight before he retired after three consecutive losses. Nonetheless, according to Ali Abdelaziz, Edgar is the favorite fighter of Islam Makhachev and Kayla Harrison .

Islam Makhachev et son équipe son de passage à la NCMMA.

Il en profite pour s'entraîner avec le fils de la légende Frankie Edgar. ‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/IzIWoxn2xC
— MMA PROPAGANDE (@MMAPropagande) May 15, 2024

Edgar was undersized at lightweight and even featherweight. However, with exceptional cardio, wrestling, and heart, Edgar became a champion in the UFC. He had one of the best trilogies in the UFC against the significantly bigger Gray Maynard . He had lost to Maynard before he became champion but drew with him in his first title defense and knocked him out in his second. As such, it is not a surprise when other fighters has Edgar as their favorite.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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