Ali Abdelaziz labels Conor McGregor as a "prop," says 'Notorious' is the only person in history going into rehab for drugs and injuries

MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz has sounded off on Conor McGregor in response to the ongoing rumors that the Irishman could compete for the UFC lightweight title in his comeback fight. Speaking to MMA Junkie’s Danny Segura, Abdelaziz labeled McGregor as a “prop” and suggested that ‘Notorious’ is given high-profile matchups only because people want to make money off him.

Segura notably asked Abdelaziz about the speculation regarding Charles Oliveira potentially fighting Islam Makhachev, Beneil Dariush, or McGregor for the vacant lightweight title next. Abdelaziz responded by stating:

“First of all, even bringing, you bringing Conor McGregor’s name to me is a joke. You shouldn’t even bring his name. He’s recovering. He’s the only person in history I know going to rehab for drugs and injuries. He’s rehabilitated for both. You know, he’s drunk, drugs, injury; nobody gives a care. Nobody care about him. Like I said, people use him for; he’s a prop. People use him for money. You know, people use him for money, you want to make money.”

Oliveira is coming off a spectacular first-round submission win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 on May 7. Unfortunately, alleged issues with the weighing scales ahead of UFC 274 led to Oliveira missing weight. Resultantly, ‘do Bronx’ was stripped of his UFC lightweight title prior to the event.

Oliveira is expected to fight a fellow top-tier lightweight for the vacant belt later this year. On that note, Abdelaziz opined that Oliveira isn’t the best lightweight. He added that fighters like Islam Makhachev, Beneil Dariush, and even Arman Tsarukyan would likely beat Oliveira.

Watch Abdelaziz’s conversation with Segura in the video below:

Daniel Cormier explains why Conor McGregor is still on the shortlist of lightweight title contenders

Conor McGregor is currently on a two-fight losing streak and suffered a gruesome leg injury last July. Nevertheless, McGregor has vowed to return this year and has called for his comeback fight to be a UFC lightweight title matchup.

On ESPN MMA’s DC & RC Show, Daniel Cormier explained that while McGregor presently doesn’t deserve a title shot based on merit, granting him one makes sense from a business perspective because he’s still MMA’s biggest star.

Furthermore, he noted that McGregor hasn’t fully recovered yet and isn’t ready for a comeback. 'DC' highlighted that apart from Makhachev, there’s no clear-cut contender to face Oliveira. He noted that McGregor could thereby slide into the title picture, primarily owing to his name value. Cormier said:

“After Islam, who's the next clear guy? He [McGregor] starts to find himself on the shortlist because of his name recognition, not because of warrant.”

Watch the episode of the DC&RC show in the video below: