One of the pioneers of MMA in the Middle East, [autotag]Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady[/autotag] is ready to take his career to the next level.
Al-Selwady (11-3), a former Brave CF lightweight champion, made quite the impression on his LFA debut when he pounded out Jake Sebastian in the first round this past weekend at LFA 103.
It was a big moment for the “Pride of Palestine,” who snapped a two-fight skid to kick off the latest chapter of his career with an impressive victory. After winning six straight en route to capturing the Brave CF lightweight title, Al-Selwady suffered back-to-back stoppage losses, which put a halt to his momentum.
With the coronavirus outbreak forcing the cancellation of numerous MMA events, Al-Selwady was forced to sit on those losses and be patient. The Texas-based fighter, who trains out of Fortis MMA, decided it was best to remain in the United States due to the global travel restrictions until an opportunity to compete for LFA arose. It’s been a rough two years for the 25-year-old, but his debut victory made things all worthwhile, as he explained.
“After coming off back-to-back losses and you know you worked very hard and you weren’t finding easier ways around them in the past camps and you know how good you are when you spar and you go against high-level people, but when it came to your record and actual fighting, they’ve been two losses back-to-back,” he told MMA Junkie. “Then COVID came, so I haven’t just lost two fights, I haven’t won a fight since my world championship at the end of 2018, and it’s been really bothering me, and I’ve been training day-in and day-out since that day, but I haven’t been able to showcase the hard work I’ve been putting in.
“Every single time I’m about to make it happen, something happens. Either a positive COVID test on the day of weigh-ins back in August, (then) I had an injury that took me out of my fight for the rescheduled fight in October. So it was just very unfortunate. But in that time, I was able to work (on) my craft, continue training hard, and make sure whenever the chance does come, and I’m able to actually fight and get back in the cage, that I’ll be ready more than ever. Not only for that fight, but for anything to come after. As I spoke with you before years before that, I said I wasn’t rushing the UFC or anything until I was ready so I would keep winning fights until then. Well, now I feel I’m actually really ready for the UFC with all the training I’ve been doing.”
The decision to compete for LFA was an easy one for Al-Selwady. He’s seen teammates such as Ramiz Brahimaj, Geoff Neal, Alonzo Menifield and Ryan Spann work their way onto the UFC roster via the LFA and he’s ready to follow suit.
“Especially if my ultimate goal is to fight and win a championship belt in the UFC, I want the UFC to see me fight,” Al-Selwady said. “I noticed the UFC wasn’t really looking at Brave or they didn’t really know about Brave fighters, but they definitely know about LFA fighters and they watch the LFA events. So for me at this point, I just wanted Sean Shelby, Dana White, Mick Maynard to see me fight and that’s why I also wanted to fight for LFA.”
He continued, “My plan is to get a short-notice or a month at least to fight for the UFC. I’d love to have a month just to be really prepared for my UFC debut. I don’t really want to fight on a one-week notice just because it’s gonna be my first fight there. I want to make a statement, I want it to be perfect, I want it to be the best. But really, I’m looking right away for a UFC contract because I feel I deserve it with the type of opponents I’ve fought in my career, and I feel I’m at that level. I just need the chance to prove it, and I’ll show Dana White and the world what the next Palestinian in the UFC has to offer.”
Al-Selwady has fought high-level competition throughout his career, holding wins over the likes of ex-UFC fighter Lucas Martins and Bellator’s Charlie Leary. He takes inspiration from his Fortis MMA teammates as well as current UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad, the lone Palestinian on the UFC roster.
“I’m really proud of Belal Muhammad how he’s been representing and coming up,” Al-Selwady said. “I’ve watched him from the beginning since his first UFC fight and seeing him grow is amazing, but the UFC has space for more Palestinians. Me and Belal, I want us to be the ones that pave that way for future generations of Palestinian MMA fighters in the UFC to come.
“So I definitely feel the UFC needs another Palestinian and it needs to be me. I’m crazy, and I’m vocal about it. I fight my heart out, which represents exactly my nation. We fight our hearts out every day just to live, so the UFC being a platform for me would really help me and push me to do my best as a fighter and a person.”