Hamdy Abdelwahab had every reason to lose momentum on Saturday night at UFC 321, but instead, he dug in deeper. Despite being hit with a costly point deduction mid-fight, the Egyptian heavyweight maintained his composure and battled through adversity to secure a crucial victory over fan-favorite Chris Barnett.
“To be honest I didn’t care. I didn’t care at all. I know I’m dominating this fight, doesn’t matter, take a point, take a round. I know I was looking for the finish, and when you look for the finish, you dominate the fight,” Abdelwahab told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.
Abdelwahab (5-1) revealed that the adversity wasn’t just from the referee’s scorecard. He was also battling through pain from the opening moments of the fight. Even then, he refused to let it, or the point deduction, derail his performance or mindset.
“I think I broke my hand in the very first round when I was (doing) ground and pound. That’s why I started throwing some elbows, but I told myself in between rounds that doesn’t matter. I’m going to keep going.”
“I know this point might cost me the first round, but I said doesn’t matter. I still have two rounds to perform and dominate the fight, and do enough to win this fight.”
“It’s because he’s fighting no wrestling. If he want to do grappling match I’m ready,” he said.
“Forget about MMA, if he think he can heel-hook me, let’s do it.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Hamdy Abdelwahab above.
