Ottman Azaitar almost had his UFC contract terminated... over a bag of potatoes.
UFC President Dana White said that Azaitar (13-0) was being released after breaking protocol on UFC Fight Island. The story goes that Azaitar's team snuck wristbands to people outside of the bubble, who proceeded to sneak into Fight Island. The individual(s) allegedly hopped from rooftop to rooftop with a mysterious bag in hand.
This week, Azaitar's manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed the contents of the bag to Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole
“Potatoes,” Abdelaziz asserted. “Potatoes. It was potatoes in the bag.”
White had a change of heart and agreed to keep Azaitar on the roster. The fighter even interrupted UFC 259 media week to make some noise and flaunt around another mysterious bag.
“He didn’t lose the job,” Abdelaziz said. “At the end of the day, it was almost like an investigation. Dana looked over it. He’s a great kid. Everybody loves him. All the UFC staff loves him. Some people got involved. Dana was involved. Listen, when you have Dana White himself handling certain situations, it’s a serious situation. At the end of the day, if they find out whatever they think he did or didn’t do, he’s a good enough person to get a second shot. He got a second shot at it, and he’s looking to get a fight right now.
“He’s a UFC fighter. He was never cut officially from the UFC," the manager assured. "Let’s remember when you have media start asking about stuff, Dana wears his heart on his sleeve. Nobody can violate the bubble. I don’t think everything that happened was intentional. At the end of the day, it’s over. I’m not saying who’s wrong or who’s right. Dana thankfully brought him back, and everything is good.”
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