ABU DHABI: Egypt’s Hamdy Abdelwahab and Palestine’s Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady will bring power, passion and more than a little regional pride to the Etihad Arena at “UFC 321: Aspinall vs. Gane” on Oct. 25.
Abdelwahab, a former Olympic wrestler who represented Egypt at the Tokyo 2020 Games, made history as his country’s first UFC fighter. He returns to action in Abu Dhabi against American Chris Barnett.
“It feels great because it feels like I’m home, fighting in my hometown,” said Abdelwahab, who was born in Cairo.
“I just told the (Arab fans) that I need their support and I’d be happy if they came. I want everyone to be here; I hope I don’t make them disappointed or regret coming.”
Abdelwahab wants to deliver Barnett his fourth UFC defeat. “It doesn’t matter what it’s going to take,” he added. “It’s going to be his luck — whatever it comes out as — but we’re looking to finish this fight.”
The Egyptian praised Abu Dhabi’s efforts to promote martial arts.
“It’s a huge difference from a couple of years ago,” he said. “Abu Dhabi started growing in the sport and growing the organizations and everything, especially in the Middle East.
“I can rank Abu Dhabi as No. 1, you know, the home of martial arts. I also hear that jiu-jitsu has become one of the subjects in schools for kids, which is a great thing to do.
“You can see that any organization hosting fights here in Abu Dhabi, in general, becomes one of the most successful events in any sport. That puts Abu Dhabi at a very high level.”
Also taking to the octagon under an Arab flag will be Al-Selwady, for whom UFC 321 marks a comeback after more than a year out.
“Ever since my last fight, I’ve just been keeping my head down, training, and getting better,” said the Palestinian, who faces Brazil’s Matheus Camilo.
“I had two fights that didn’t go through — one where I got severely injured and the other two opponents kept pulling out. I just kept getting better and better during that time, reflecting on everything that happened.
“I believe this is all part of God’s timing, and right now is my time.”
Al-Selwady says fighting in Abu Dhabi brings his career full circle: “I like to look at it in a positive way wherever I am. If I fight anywhere, I know there’s going to be a good crowd and I know I have my friends traveling with me.
“But fighting here brings me back to when I started MMA in the Middle East. Of course, it’s nice to come back to your roots and represent in front of everyone. Seeing people who followed me from 10 years ago, eight years ago, all excited to come watch me again.”
Al-Selwady has witnessed firsthand the region’s rapid development in MMA. “I started MMA in 2012,” he said. “Back then, Jordan was the capital of MMA because there was a promotion based there.
“Seeing Abu Dhabi throughout the years start adopting MMA and really taking over to what it is right now is very beautiful. We’ve grown together, and to fight here right now is an amazing feeling and a great pleasure.”
Al-Selwady, nicknamed “The Pride of Palestine,” believes the healthy competition between Arab nations has helped the sport flourish.
“Seeing different countries participate in bringing the UFC here, I feel like it’s a very healthy competition between Arab countries (to see) who’s going to throw the biggest events. In the end, the fighters are the biggest ones to gain from that.”
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