Al-Selwady didn't let Shem Rock's head games work at UFC London
Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady wasn't a fan of Shem Rock's style in the buildup to their fight.
Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady met the media Saturday after his win over Shem Rock at UFC Fight Night 270. Al-Selwady (16-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) swept the judges' scorecards against Rock (12-3-1 MMA, 0-2 UFC) with a trio of 30-27 scores on the prelims at The O2 in London. Al-Selwady's win came on Rock's home turf in England, and immediately after the fight they had to be separated when Rock put his hands on Al-Selwady's face, and then had to duck away from a post-fight swing.
Al-Selwady said Rock spent much time in the lead-up to the fight trying to get under his skin online, but to no avail. "My opponent is very vocal. He's in love with social media," Al-Selwady told the UFC after his win.
"He tried to make this a get-in-my-head thing, and I'm here for just business. No matter what he did, I just replied back with a smile. "… I'm actually proud of myself for not letting it get to me, because he tried every single tactic that he can, and I'm by default an emotional person.
I'm a fighter and I'm more of a pitbull mentality. So to let someone talk to me like that and get physical and not give them the reaction, I think what won in this way was my stubbornness to not give him what he wants. " Check out Al-Selwady's post-fight interview with the UFC .