WSOF exec: We cannot be world's best MMA promotion if our fighters turn down fights

LAS VEGAS – WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdelaziz says he understands how his words may have been a bit misunderstood, but his sentiment remains the same: If you want to succeed in his promotion, don’t turn down fights.

“If you’re a top guy at World Series of Fighting, and I’m trying to put on an entertaining fight for the fans and for the company and you tell me no, what am I supposed to do?” Abdelaziz asked MMAjunkie. “I feel like I’m paying you money to fight, and so if you’re healthy and in a good state of mind, you shouldn’t tell me no. Your job is to fight.”

Earlier today, Abdelaziz told MMAFighting.com that “Enough is enough,” and that “I’m getting sick of this. If a fighter is not going to respect the promotion, he is going to be shelved for a long time. I will not release anyone to another promotion. Fighters must honor their contracts.”

The warning came along with the announcement that WSOF welterweight champ Rousimar Palhares would be unavailable for a planned July meeting with Jon Fitch. The automatic assumption was that Palhares’ decision was a big part of Abdelaziz’s “warning.”

The WSOF matchmaker admitted Palhares, who told MMAjunkie his decision was based on a need to care for his ailing mother, was part of his frustration because he needed to find new bouts to fill the space, but he certainly didn’t mean to suggest “Toquinho” was turning down fights.

“Palhares was a piece of the puzzle, sure,” Abdelaziz said. “Am I upset that he wants to take care of his mother? Absolutely not. I wish him and his mother the best. This is what a good son is supposed to do: Take care of his mother. But at the same time, I’ve got at least five fighters – and I don’t want to put them on blast – but they do not want to take hard fights.”

Abdelaziz believes fighters not willing to take the toughest challenge available may be a direct result of WSOF’s recent decision to allow top stars Anthony Johnson and Andrei Arlovski to migrate to the sport’s top promotion, the UFC.

Abdelaziz, who maintains a solid relationship with UFC officials, said he understands there will sometimes be a need to let his fighters leave for the UFC but doesn’t see his organization setting up as some type of feeder league.

“I don’t want people to get the misconception that we’re just going to release everybody to the UFC,” Abdelaziz said. “I believe fighters are trying to take safe fights, run their contract out and try to get released to the UFC. If fighters are going to act this way, I can’t put on any good fights for the fans.

“This is all about the fans. I want to put on great fights for the fans, and if everybody wants to play it safe under the assumption they’ll get four wins and go to the UFC, how can I make great fights? I wanted everybody to get a wake-up call.”

And so Abdelaziz said he will continue to find the proper balance between finding top talent and establishing them as WSOF stars, while also understanding not every fighter will see their entire career playing out in the WSOF decagon. But if a fighter wants to use the promotion as a springboard to another promotion, Abdelaziz recommends they follow the example of Johnson and Arlovski.

“I believe a fighter’s job is to fight,” Abdelaziz said. “That’s how he supports himself, and that’s how he supports his family. If you’re a top guy on a winning streak and I ask you for a fight, I need you to take it. I believe guys say no is because they want to keep wining and get released somewhere, but I don’t think this is good for World Series of Fighting or for the fans. My job is to put on the best fights I can for the fans and for the promotion. That’s my job.

“Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson, they took every fight we offered, especially Anthony. Hell, he fought Andrei at heavyweight when he didn’t have to. He did because we needed him to. If a guy like that asks me not to match his contract, how could I dare say no? I would never do that to any fighter who’s been a team player. Of course I want to keep our best fighters as long as I can, but I also want to make them happy. I want to make sure I’m fair to them. I want to make sure they’re making as much money as possible.

“Anthony Johnson did everything I ever asked of him. I can’t ask for a guy like that not to do what he wants.’

And so Abdelaziz stands by his original message, even if he wants to ensure that it doesn’t necessarily include every assumed participant. He wishes the best for Palhares’ family and looks forward to the Brazilian’s return. But for the rest of the roster, he hopes they understand, if the promotion is going to succeed, they have to be willing to take tough fights.

“We try to be the best MMA promotion in the world,” Abdelaziz said. “We cannot do that with fighters turning down fights.

For more on the WSOF’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.