Ali Abdelaziz reportedly slaps Abe Kawa at PFL event
“LVMPD officers were on scene and temporarily detained one of the subjects during the investigation.”
Dominance MMA CEO Ali Abdelaziz reportedly slapped First Round Management VP Abe Kawa at Friday’s PFL 2019, Playoffs 1; it was immediately broken up thereafter.
Kawa alleged Abdelaziz approached him, saying “I need to talk to you,” and then suddenly slapped him in the face.
A Las Vegas police spokesperson gave a statement to ESPN in a statement to ESPN‘s Marc Raimondi:
“LVMPD officers were on scene and temporarily detained one of the subjects during the investigation. That subject was cooperative. He was issued a citation and released. No enforcement action was taken regarding the second subject, who was also cooperative. There were no significant injuries.”
PFL executive vice president and general counsel Jim Bramson also offered a statement:
“We were focused on the action in the cage. We’re going to look into it and see if we can find anything out about it.”
A video taken with a potato show absolutely nuttin’.
https://twitter.com/RyanLF___/status/1182878188243808257
Kawa’s client Anthony Pettis said Abdelaziz slapped Kawa “like a b****” and “was gone in 15 seconds.”
Abdelaziz has not offered a full statement, but responded to the remarks by Showtime.
https://twitter.com/AliDominance/status/1183091752640626690
Kawa has responded in more detail on his social network.
I would need usada or Vada to test for steroids. https://t.co/IaHNU8wdP1
— Abe kawa (@Abraham_kawa) October 12, 2019
Loved all the fighters that reached out to me from Ali’s stable. I know you guys aren’t the prob and I understand the situation you guys are in. Having to pay back a loan like an indentured servant sucks. Stay strong and be safe fellas ✊🏼
— Abe kawa (@Abraham_kawa) October 12, 2019
The pen is mightier than the sword
— Abe kawa (@Abraham_kawa) October 12, 2019
Nah man. I wish him nothing but the best and hope he finds peace. Seems like he is addicted to turmoil and he probably feels the walls closing in on him. When you are a user it typically alters your mind does I doubt he was always this bad….wait nvm 🤦🏻♂️ https://t.co/sHM9f0CBLK
— Abe kawa (@Abraham_kawa) October 12, 2019
Abe’s brother, First Round Management founder Malki Kawa also responded.
One day (really soon) I’ll tell you guys the truth about my altercations with that rat. But so we’re clear, he never ko’d me, never dazed me, never did anything but throw a sucker punch and then I got grabbed
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) October 12, 2019
Second altercation ended up with me soccer kicking him in the head l. he threw a kick I caught, and Forrest came to break it up. He hit the ground, I kicked his head.
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) October 12, 2019
I never said anything because BOTH TIMES he called to apologize. Both time’s. Like a little bitch. But now I see he did that to avoid me pressing charges. Which I was never going to do….
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) October 12, 2019
But like I said, I’ll give all the details later. So we’re clear, any friend of his is an enemy of mine. We can fight all day, but coming at anyone in my family and you cross the line.
— malki kawa (@malkikawa) October 12, 2019
Abdelaziz has thus far not offered full comment.
Both management firms are among the biggest in the business, with FRM representing Jon Jones, Jorge Masvidal, and Tyron Woodley among many others, while Dominance manages a large group including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, and Henry Cejudo.
