Home » UFC » Exclusive: Ali Abdelaziz on Anthony Johnson’s return and who Khamzat Chimaev should fight next

Ali Abdelaziz opened up on former UFC star Anthony Johnson making a return in 2020

Ali Abdelaziz was on the Schmozone podcast and spoke on several topics. The MMA Dominance agent is known for having some of the best fighters in the UFC and has several talents under his belt too.

Abdelaziz has trained with the best and is possibly the top agent in the world too. While he spoke about his current UFC clients, the Egyptian was asked about Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.

Anthony Johnson seems set for a return to the UFC
Mixed martial artist Anthony Johnson spars during an open workout for UFC 202 at Rocks Lounge at the Red Rock Casino on August 18, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Johnson is scheduled to fight Glover Teixeira in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 202 on August 20, 2016 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Rumble had left the UFC a while back but confirmed he was planning to make a return. The American has posted several photos on social media. Abdelaziz provided a date for the return but didn’t name anyone in particular that Johnson would face:

“Rumble Johnson is going to come back in February.”

Abdelaziz added that he knew what a champion looked like and backed Johnson to cause some damage when he was back.

The Egyptian “100%” confirmed that Rumble would face a top 10 opponent but it didn’t matter who he went up against.

The next big thing

Another star in the making is Khamzat Chimaev and Abdelaziz opened up on his next possible fight.

The Swede is 8-0 in his MMA career and is coming off a great 17-second win over Gerald Meerschaert.

Demian Maia and even Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson have been named as possible opponents. However, Abdelaziz explained why Wonderboy might not take the fight:

“Demian Maia doesn’t seem to like it. I believe the UFC offered the fight to Wonderboy. Wonderboy he run, I don’t blame him. I don’t think he had much of a chance in this fight.

“We talk about great people, Wonderboy is an awesome human being and I respect him and I won’t say anything bad about him.”

Neil Magny was another name that Abdelaziz brought up but the Egyptian added that Khamzat is a bigger name when compared to Thompson.

Khamzat Chimaev got an easy win over Gerald Meerschaert and is planning for his next UFC fight
Khamzat Chimaev of Chechnya celebrates after his knockout victory over Gerald Meerschaert in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on September 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The Egyptian couldn’t confirm if Chimaev would fight for the Welterweight belt or the Middleweight one.

“I don’t know. I would be lying if I told you I know. He is a different level.”

Abdelaziz finished off by saying that Khamzat could beat anyone and claimed that this would be a tough fight for Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya too.

This was an exclusive interview from The Schmozone Podcast. For more exclusive interviews and content please follow the link

More UFC news

Follow our dedicated UFC page for instant UFC news and updates