On Thursday night, UFC fighter Kamaru Usman and his manager Ali Abdelaziz were involved in a brawl that took place during the inaugural Professional Fight League (PFL) show.
Video footage surfaced overnight on YouTube and social media of the brawl, as well as the moments leading up to it. It appeared that Usman was shouting at an unidentified fan in the crowd before shoving the fan multiple times. When Usman turned to leave, the fan came forward and pushed the UFC fighter, which lead to the brawl.
Dressed in a cream-coloured suit, Abdelaziz can also be seen yelling at the unidentified man before throwing several punches during the actual brawl. Usman also threw at least one punch before being restrained by security staff at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
While it remains unclear who provoked the mele that took place during PFL 1, this is not the first time that Ali Abdelaziz has been involved in a brawl during an MMA event. During the UFC 150 post-fight press conference, Abdelaziz punched fellow manager Malki Kawa in the face before the two were separated.
Three years later, Abdelaziz joined in a scuffle between UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov and the Diaz brothers during a World Series of Fighting (WSOF) show. Following the brawl, which was also captured on video, Abdelaziz banned Nick and Nate Diaz because “you have to be more professional in MMA.”
“I can’t have Nick and Nate come to a World Series of Fighting event again,” Abdel-Aziz said. “I like these guys, but if they’re not going to show me respect coming to the show, how can I let them back in?
The UFC is yet to respond to a request for comment.