1. Shields Brother Arrested In Trainer Assault
Less than two weeks after a man assaulted the trainer of Ivana Habazin, the alleged perpetrator has been arrested on a felony assault charge.
During the weigh-in for Habazin’s fight against Flint, Michigan native Claressa Shields, Habazin’s trainer Bashir Ali was sucker-punched by someone alleged to be a part of Shields’ camp, sending Ali to the ground and not only causing a laceration but knocking the trainer out cold.
First reported by Detroit News, Artis Mack, 28, has been charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder for the October 4th incident that sent Ali to the hospital and canceled the much-anticipated homecoming for Shields, who was looking to make history as the fastest fighter in history to win three world titles in as many weight classes.
The Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office announced Mack’s arrest on Wednesday, with Prosecutor David Leyton stating Mack was spotted by Flint police fleeing the scene, with the officer apprehending Mack in a nearby neighborhood.
Last week during the first event of the PFL Playoffs, Ali Abdelaziz got into a physical altercation with Abe Kawa, a fellow MMA agent.
Abdelaziz, who was the former matchmaker and an executive for the PFL’s previous iteration, the World Series Of Fighting, has been banned from attending any of their events following his second act of violence this year.
As reported earlier this week, Abdelaziz was cited by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for battery for his striking of Kawa, which has brought upon his banning.
“At league direction, Ali Abdelaziz will not be attending upcoming postseason events,” the PFL told ESPN in a released statement. “Given the fact this is a legal matter, the league has no further comment at this time.”
While Abdelaziz has not been formally charged for the incident, he said to ESPN that he did not want to make the event about “him.”
“I spoke to PFL executives earlier this week and I don’t want this story to be about me,” Abdelaziz said. “The focus should be on my athletes in the PFL. I have 10 athletes fighting on Thursday and we made sure everybody made weight and has everything they need. I continue to support my athletes.”
Colby Covington really knows how to endear himself to the UFC fanbase, especially after a caustic year surrounding his attempts to become UFC welterweight champion.
After being passed over twice for a shot at the title, Covington will face off with Kamaru Usman at UFC 245 this December for the title, and if Covington does defeat Usman, he has warned UFC President Dana White to not be anywhere near him or the title.
”I can tell you who’s not wrapping it around my waist, and that will not be Dana White,” Covington told “Submission Radio.”
“If he tries to wrap it around my waist, I’m gonna take the belt from him and slap him in the face with it.”
”Whether they love me and want to see me win, or hate me and want to see me knocked out, I’m doing what I do best,” Convington said of his promotion style, which took a hit after the lackluster attendance and ratings of his August fight against Robbie Lawler. “What’s great about this is, this is an opportunity for me to just really shove this up the UFC’s ass and say, f*ck you guys, I don’t give a f*ck about you guys, now you have to come to me.”
4. GSP Will Come Back For Khabib
While Georges St-Pierre announced that he’d retire, one fight that was left on the table was a superfight with UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Now it seems that fight may not be on the list of fights that could have been.
“If the right fight came along, they know where to find me,” St-Pierre told ESPN of a return to the Octagon against Nurmagomedov.
“We tried to make the right fight but it didn’t work. If everything is aligned contractually, everything is good, as we speak now, yes I would.”
While one new controversy came to light on Tuesday, one was seemingly put to bed for UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Jones pled No Contest inside the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court in New Mexico on a charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly slapping the vagina of a woman who worked as a waitress at TD’s Eubank Showclub this past April.
On top of the no-contest plea, which is not considered an admission of guilt in the state of New Mexico, Jones was given a 90-day deferred sentence where Jones must avoid legal trouble and abstain from any alcohol or drugs, coupled with unsupervised probation. Jones also must pay the victim’s court fees and is not allowed to return to the strip club where the incident took place.