A 34-year-old UFC fighter cleared of sexual assault charges admitted he thought about 'revenge' against his accusers
- UFC fighter Abdul Razak Alhassan returns to the Octagon Wednesday after two years away from the fight game.
- Alhassan has not fought since 2018 when he was indicted on a sexual assault charge involving two women.
- He was accused of rape by two women he met while working as a bouncer at a bar in Fort Worth, Texas. He was acquitted by a jury in March 2020.
- Alhassan consistently denied the assault occurred, and said that he had consensual sex with one of the women, though DNA evidence was discovered on both of the womens' bodies.
- Alhassan said this week that, ahead of his fighting return, he has cried, contemplated revenge against his accusers, and thought about death. He carries with him many emotions to the cage.
- "I thought about revenge. If I told you I didn't, I'm lying. They've got to feel the pain that they put me through," he said of his accusers.
- "I'm a good person," Alhassan said at an event that Insider attended. "I'll never do what they said I did."
FIGHT ISLAND — Abdul Razak Alhassan, a UFC welterweight, said things are "forever changed" for him, despite clearing his name after a sexual assault allegation involving two women.
Alhassan built a formidable record of ten wins (ten knockouts) against just one decision loss, but has not fought since 2018 when he finished Niko Price in 43 seconds in Dallas.
That year, he was indicted on a sexual assault charge involving two women, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported at the time. Alhassan was alleged to have raped two women — 20 and 22 — whom he met while working as a bouncer at a bar in Fort Worth after going back to one of the women's homes.
Alhassan consistently denied the assault occurred, and said that he had consensual sex with one of the women, though DNA evidence was discovered on both of the womens' bodies.
Alhassan's defense attorney Terri Moore told the jury the women made up the story in order to placate the jealous, possessive boyfriend of one of the women, according to the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram.
But prosecutors argued the women's story was credible.
"We don't have to come up with 'what if' scenarios," Tarrant County prosecutor Kimberly D'Avignon told the jury, per the Star-Telegram.
"Each and every thing (the victims) talk about shows up in the evidence. These girls are not criminal masterminds, and they are not Oscar-winning actresses. They were telling the truth, and the truth is that they did not want to be here."
In the end, almost two years after being charged, Alhassan was acquitted. In March of this year, a jury found the 34-year-old not guilty, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said.
Those two years were hell, Alhassan said at a media event Monday, ahead of his return to the UFC Octagon in the second of the UFC's four "Fight Island" events on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
At the small press event attended by Insider, Alhassan revealed that he cried every day, struggled to look after his child, and often contemplated death.
Alhassan also admitted he'd considered revenge against his accusers, and said he questioned why his accusers weren't being punished "for the pain they put me through."
"It got to a point, 'Why is God letting people like that live?' Because if I didn't do that to you, why? I thought about revenge. If I told you I didn't, I'm lying," he said of his accusers.
Alhassan knows he still carries a lot of anger from the trial, but said: "I have to put it behind me because if I keep this anger in me, it's just going to keep destroying me. And I'm in a chapter in my life I should feel happy, blessed."
"[I've] proved my innocence. I'm out of this," he continued.
"A lot of people are sitting behind bars right now for something they never did. You never think about that until you go through something like this. If I keep thinking about it I feel it'll eat me from the inside."
Alhassan fights Wednesday for the first time in 2 years
Alhassan reenters the competitive 170-pound weight class with an assignment against a local talent and fellow knockout artist, Mounir Lazzez, from Dubai, who Dana White signed after the fighter's friend showed the UFC president a highlight-reel of Lazzez's hits.
Alhassan told Insider it felt good to be back, fighting on a midweek UFC card, even though life will never be the same.
"It's forever changed because your name can never be the same. But for me, life is back to normal," he said.
Alhassan's wife stayed with the fighter through the ordeal, he said. According to Alhassan, she said: "Of course I'm mad at you for going behind me and doing this, but I know you'd never do something like that."
Following the not guilty verdict, Alhassan said his life is in a better place. "I can wake up and see family and know I can be there for them … yes, life is much happier now than it was before."
Now, he's focused on his opponent, Lazzez, whom he called "a tough dude" who throws good combinations with his long limbs.
He finished by remarking that it is not yet clear to him how he will fight come Wednesday — whether he will go for the finish, fight technically, or unleash all the anger which is inside him.
"I'm always going to be the crazy fighter," Alhassan said. "Everybody sees the crazy side — going in there, berserk. But nobody's seen the technical side of me.
"I feel like there's so many emotions and I hope the emotions don't make me go crazy, because I really want to unleash everything inside me. But at the same time … you have to check yourself."
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