A manager of some of the UFC’s biggest stars nearly drowned while swimming in Hawaii before being rescued by one of his clients in a dramatic scene that was recorded.
“Ottman is a great guy,” manager Ali Abdelaziz told TMZ of UFC fighter Ottman Azaitar. ‘He has a big heart. “He literally saved my life.”
The tape of the incident shows Abdelaziz struggling to stay afloat while swimming with two men near a waterfall in a jungle area of the 50th state. Abdelaziz, he explained, found himself in a deeper area than expected.
Soon he felt himself beginning to slide beneath the surface of the water.
That’s when Azaitar sprang into action, grabbing a vine from a nearby tree and using it to pull Abdelaziz to safety.
The tape of the incident shows Abdelaziz struggling to stay afloat while swimming with two men near a waterfall in a jungle area of the 50th state.
Azaitar grabbed a vine from a nearby tree and used it to carry Abdelaziz to safety.
Ali Abdelaziz (right) credits Ottman Azaitar (left) for saving his life in Hawai’i
Abdelaziz tries to catch his breath after almost drowning in Hawaii
Next up for Abdelaziz is UFC 307 in Salt Lake City, where another of his fighters, Kaya Harrison, is scheduled to be on the card.
The Cairo native is a former MMA fighter, but became a fighter manager after connecting with the legendary Renzo Gracie at the Gracie family academy in New York.
Abdelaziz now manages several of the biggest names in the sport, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo.
Abdelaziz, a strong supporter of Donald Trump, was previously imprisoned in Colorado for falsifying documents, but was later recruited by the New York police to infiltrate a group called Muslims of America. According to the book ‘Enemies Within: Inside the NYPD’s Secret Spying Unit and bin Laden’s Final Plot Against America’, Abdelaziz also worked for the FBI until they began to suspect him of being a double agent.
According to the book, the Bureau tried unsuccessfully to deport Abdelaziz at one point.
Azaitar, on the other hand, seems to be at a crossroads in his career. Defeated in consecutive fights, the German-Moroccan fighter has been out of action since July 2023. He was scheduled to fight at UFC Fight Night 232 in November of last year, but that fight was canceled for some undisclosed reason.
Azaitar began his career by winning his first 13 fights, including a pair of fights in 2019 and 2020 that earned him ‘Performance of the Night’ honors.
