When the biggest names in MMA walked through the doors of the White House on Wednesday, the historic UFC Freedom 250 event was already making headlines—but it was a social media jab at Conor McGregor that stole the spotlight.
Fighters like Alex Pereira, Ciryl Gane, Justin Gaethje, and Ilia Topuria gathered at the iconic Washington building to meet President Donald Trump, snapping photos and filming promotional content for the landmark card. Alongside them came their coaches and managers, including one name that immediately reignited a bitter rivalry: Ali Abdelaziz.
Abdelaziz, best known as Khabib Nurmagomedov’s longtime manager, didn’t waste a moment. Shortly after the meeting with Trump—who shares a close friendship with McGregor—Abdelaziz took to X (formerly Twitter) with a pointed message aimed directly at the Irish superstar.
“Everyone asked about you today at the White House, we missed you today,” he wrote, tagging McGregor. The post was widely seen as a deliberate dig, especially since McGregor had publicly expressed his desire to be part of the White House card in recent months.
Despite those ambitions, the former two-weight UFC champion was notably absent from the event. McGregor is now expected to return to MMA competition later this year, but for now, his absence gave his old rival’s camp plenty of ammunition.
The feud between Abdelaziz and McGregor runs deep, fueled by the manager’s close ties to Khabib, who defeated McGregor in one of the most iconic fights in UFC history. But Abdelaziz didn’t stop with the online jab—he also delivered a fiery speech praising Trump and the upcoming event.
“Like Justin said, it was all President Trump—probably the UFC would be 20 years behind [without him],” Abdelaziz said. “He gave us the jumpstart from the beginning. This is going to be the greatest sports event ever created on planet Earth. It’s going to be the most watched sports event, and what an honor to fight on the ground, red, white, and blue.”
He added: “Justin is the only American, but it’s an honor coming from France, Spain, Brazil—that is the American dream. All of us live the American dream. It’s an honor to be in the Oval Office.”
With tensions rising and the event drawing closer, UFC Freedom 250 is shaping up to be as much about the drama outside the Octagon as the action inside it.