Justin Gaethje’s longtime manager Ali Abdelaziz shared his side to UFC CEO Dana White’s recent claims his client turned down a pay increase.
Justin Gaethje reclaimed the interim UFC lightweight championship belt last weekend at UFC 324, defeating Paddy Pimblett by unanimous decision in an instant classic. Gaethje will likely fight Ilia Topuria later this year in what would be his third shot at the lineal lightweight title.
Ahead of UFC 324, Gaethje made some widely discussed claims about his paycheck, following UFC CEO Dana White and others’ claims that fighters will be paid more under the Paramount broadcasting partnership. Gaethje said he wasn’t making a single dollar more for his fight at UFC 324 than for any other fight in his career.
White responded to Gaethje’s comments by saying the lightweight star declined a pay increase entering UFC 324. Gaethje’s team, for the first time since his back-and-forth with White, shared their side of the story.
Ali Abdelaziz: Justin Gaethje might’ve ‘not been okay’ with UFC 324 pay increase offer
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Gaethje’s longtime manager Ali Abdelaziz responded to White’s claims.
“I have rules, I don’t talk about financial business. Dana was right, there was an offer made. It was made. But sometimes it’s a little bit more money, Dana was not lying, but in reality Justin, maybe he was not okay with the offer,” Abdelaziz said of Gaethje.
“But everything worked out correctly – it was all good, and now we’ll get to talk and in a way, I always say for an athlete and everybody, we have feelings. Men have testosterone, and Justin is emotional. He speaks and he’s not lying. Nobody in the UFC deserves to make more money than Justin Gaethje, nobody.
“If you think you’re worth money, and you want to talk about it, we can talk about it behind closed doors,” he continued on Gaethje. “But I think no one wins when people talk about money publicly.”
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