Ali Abdelaziz knows the middleweight title picture will be much clear after UFC Vegas 24.
In the main event of the card, Robert Whittaker is set to face Kelvin Gastelum. Before this Saturday’s card, in the weeks prior, Marvin Vettori and Derek Brunson picked up big wins and for Abdelaziz, he says his other client in Gastelum needs a statement win in order to get a title shot.
“(Marvin) is a psychopath and he’s obsessed with Israel,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. “Listen, (Adesanya has) got Derek Brunson there. He’s got Kelvin Gastelum there. All my guys. At the end of the day, you have a fight next week. For sure, Marvin made a statement. The week before, Derek made a statement. We might go ahead and let Kelvin knock out Whittaker.”
For Ali Abdelaziz, he knows he won’t push anyone of his clients if Gastelum wins as he’ll leave the decision to the UFC. However, it’s likely Adesanya’s next fight will be a rematch against Robert Whittaker, Gastelum, Vettori, or Brunson.
Regardless of who it is, Abdelaziz knows the middleweight title picture will be clear after Saturday night.
“When it’s tough like that, it’s close to home like that, the UFC will make a choice,” Abdelaziz said. “Mick and Dana and all those guys, they say who is going to be next. But also, you know you can’t deny Marvin. You’ve got to put respect on his name. The kid works so hard and is very dedicated. Also, (if) you look at Shahbazyan (and) Kevin Holland, Derek Brunson dismantled them. You can also look the other way when it comes to Derek Brunson.
“I know Kelvin had a rough run, too, but he won his next fight. We saw a lot of improvement,” he concluded. “He and Whittaker is a 50-50 fight. Anything can happen. I think after next week, there’s going to be a lot of clarity and we’ll know who’s going to fight Israel next.”
