After all, Ottman Azaitar is not going anywhere.
On Saturday, 29 days after signaling that Azaitar’s term was over, UFC President Dana White told ESPN he had changed his mind. The UFC will give Azaitar a “second chance”.
Azaitar’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN that the incident was a “misunderstanding” and thanked White and the UFC for the final decision. According to Abdelaziz, Azaitar was never officially removed from the US Anti-Doping Agency’s list or test fund.
On January 22, there were reports that Azaitar (13-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) violated the COVID-19 protocol in Abu Dhabi before the scheduled UFC 257 match against Matt Frevola. As a result, his fight was called off. At that time, White said Azaitar was removed from the UFC.
“(Azaitar) and his team cut off their bracelets and brought them to people outside, one guy,” White told FMAh Hannoun of MMA Junkie as he detailed the alleged incident. “The guy went inside the balloon, went through a room, went down on four balconies, went through his balcony (Azaitar) and left a bag with we don’t know what. Then he changed his clothes and went back out of the bubble. I took everything in the room, I saw everything and as everything fell, I fought it and cut it. ”
Azaitar, 31, is undefeated as a professional. His resume includes two UFC wins – both through the playoffs in the first round. In his promotional debut, Azaitar threw Teemu Packalen with a massive right, which ends with the fight. In the second promotional tournament in September, Azaitar finished Khama Worthy with his fists in 93 seconds.