Ali Abdelaziz went on the Pound 4 Pound podcast to hype up his newest star client. He ended up picking a fight he didn’t need instead. The Dominance MMA CEO, who manages Islam Makhachev among others, predicted that free agent Usman Nurmagomedov would run through several of the UFC’s top lightweights, Max Holloway included, and Holloway wasn’t interested in staying quiet about it.

Abdelaziz laid out a full list of stoppage predictions for Nurmagomedov, who’s fresh off finishing his PFL contract with a first-round stoppage of Archie Colgan on July 31, closing out an undefeated 22-0 run.

“Usman will knock out Dan Hooker, he’ll submit him,” Abdelaziz said. “I love Paddy Pimblett. He’s a great guy, but Usman will stop him in under two rounds. I think he’ll make Ilia quit. The only fight I can see being competitive is him and Arman. Charles Oliveira, he will make him quit, and he will absolutely demolish Max Holloway.”

He got even more specific elsewhere in the same appearance, predicting a third-round head kick knockout of Ilia Topuria, a second-round submission of Oliveira, a fourth-round knockout of Holloway, and a second-round TKO of Pimblett.

Get the EssentiallySports Daily Newsletter. Stay ahead of the game with daily updates, exclusive stories, expert takes, and the biggest moments from the world's most popular sports.

Holloway heard about it and didn’t hold back when a fan brought it up on his Kick stream.

“Ali don’t know s**t about fighting,” Holloway said.

That one-liner got Abdelaziz’s attention fast and he posted an apology on X shortly after.

“Honestly, I was out of line,” Abdelaziz wrote. “Max is a legend, and I have nothing but respect for him. I shouldn’t have said what I said. I was wrong, and I sincerely apologize.”

The quick reversal makes sense given who Holloway actually is. The Hawaiian carries a 28-9 record and just beat Conor McGregor at UFC 329 after McGregor suffered a knee injury early in the fight, four months removed from losing the BMF title to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326. He also owns one of the most iconic finishes in UFC history, a fifth-round knockout of current lightweight champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, a fighter Abdelaziz also manages. Between Holloway’s resume and his standing in the sport, backing down looked like the safer move.

This isn’t the first time Abdelaziz has had to apologize for going too far, either. He’s previously had to walk back comments and smooth over tension with people around the sport after letting his predictions get personal, a pattern that’s followed him well before this latest incident.

That history didn’t stop him from picking a second fight in the very same interview.

Ali Abdelaziz wants Usman Nurmagomedov to face Ilia Topuria

Abdelaziz also used the podcast to make clear who he wants Nurmagomedov’s UFC debut opponent to be: Ilia Topuria, the former two-division champion. He argued Nurmagomedov would make Topuria quit the same way Justin Gaethje did at UFC’s White House card.

Topuria hasn’t responded personally, but his manager, Malki Kawa, wasted no time doing it for him.

“Back to the MMA stuff,” Kawa said, as per Championship Rounds. “If you’ve seen my last post, you got Abdelaziz sitting there with two of his clients, and one of them happens to be Usman. They’re sitting there and talking about his next opponent and they’re like, ‘Oh, he would beat this guy and he would do this.’ Guys, shut the f**k up. Ilia Topuria would annihilate 100 percent of your roster.”

That exchange has added a fresh layer to the ongoing rivalry between the Dagestani and Georgian-Spanish camps, and fans have already started buzzing about a potential Nurmagomedov-Topuria matchup as a result.

Whether that fight actually happens still depends on a bigger question first: whether the UFC signs Nurmagomedov at all. Dana White responded positively when asked about it at the UFC Belgrade press conference, though Nurmagomedov still has a 90-day exclusive negotiating window with the PFL before he’s free to sign anywhere else, the real timeline that will determine if any of Abdelaziz’s predictions ever get tested in the Octagon.