Slim Trabelsi has joined Bellator MMA after a disagreement between managers resulted in his departure from the UFC.
Slim Trabelsi has become a Bellator MMA fighter after a dispute between managers led to his release from UFC. Bellator officials confirmed Trabelsi’s move to the Paramount-owned promotion following an initial report from TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter. According to a press release from Dominance MMA, Trabelsi’s contract is a “six-figure,” multi-fight, multi-year deal, although his Bellator debut remains unbooked. The management firm found itself at the center of a dispute involving Trabelsi and Fernand Lopez, the heavyweight’s coach and promoter. Lopez claimed Trabelsi was still under contract and bound to the promotion he co-chairs, ARES FC. Dominance owner Ali Abdelaziz claimed he didn’t know Trabelsi was under contract and accused Lopez of holding the fighter in “slavery.”
Lopez did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he told MMA reporter Cole Shelton that he planned to contest the new deal. A Bellator official declined to comment on Lopez’s statement. The MMA Factory owner previously offered to assign Trabelsi’s contract to Abdelaziz for 90,000 Euros, but backed out when the dispute became public. Trabelsi told MMA Fighting that Abdelaziz is his manager and he wanted to move on from Lopez, whom he accused of holding back his career.
“I don’t need nothing for [Lopez],” Trabelsi said. “I don’t want any problem with him, but let me go.” However, Lopez countered that Trabelsi, who is from Tunisia but moved to Paris without a visa, said he had invested money into the fighter that he expected to be recouped. He criticized Abdelaziz for interfering with his client by walking away from a valid contract. “This is not the way to deal with people,” Lopez stated. “If you’re under a management contract, stick to your manager, and when it’s over, you can move. Don’t do that. That’s wrong to do that.”
Trabelsi is undefeated as a heavyweight pro, earning a 4-0 record on the international circuit, including back-to-back ARES wins. He was set to face Parker Porter at UFC 280 before the management dispute led to his release.