Egypt is on the MMA map in a big way.
Hamdy Abdelwahab (3-0), a former Greco-Roman Olympic wrestler, has signed with the UFC, according to First Round Management, which represents the Egyptian fighter.
Abdelwahab, a heavyweight born in Cairo, has competed just five times professionally, twice in a bare-knuckle MMA match. All five of his fights have come under UFC star Jorge Masvidal’s organizations Gamebred Fighting Championship and iKON FC.
Training out of Killer B Combat Sports Academy in New Jersey, Abdelwahab last fought in June when he scored a TKO win over Matthew Strickland at iKON FC 3. All five of his wins have come by stoppage.
“It was a really great moment for me,” Abdelwahab told MMA Junkie. “I’ve always dreamed about becoming a UFC fighter and when I heard the news that I was picked by the UFC, it was crazy. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that my dream came true. I was always watching the UFC and their daily lives, how they live. I was training and getting ready for this moment. I think I’m ready not just to be the first Egyptian UFC fighter in history, but I’m also ready to become the first Egyptian champion in UFC history.
“I would like to thank everyone, all may training partners, my gym, my coach, my manager, my friends who really motivated me to become who I am now, and I promise everyone who believed in me and supported me just for me and not any other reasons. I promise them I’ll always put their heads up, and I want to promise them from now that they’ll always watch me fighting in the very top levels.”
Hamdy Abdelwahab ready to become Egypt’s first UFC champion after historic signing
