Egyptian Hamdy Abdelwahab and Palestine’s Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady will bring power, passion, and more than a little regional pride to the UAE capital when two of the Arab World’s top mixed martial artists light up the Etihad Arena as part of Octagon at UFC 321: Aspinall vs Gane on Saturday October 25.

‘It feels like I’m home in Abu Dhabi’

Abdelwahab, a former Olympic wrestler who represented Egypt at the Tokyo 2020 Games, made history as his country’s first UFC fighter. Now, as he prepares for his return to action in Abu Dhabi against American Chris Barnett, the Egyptian heavyweight says the experience feels personal.

“It feels great because it feels like I’m home, fighting in my hometown,” said Abdelwahab, who was born in Cairo and expects strong local support in the Middle East. “I’m from Egypt originally, born and raised there, so it feels great to be in Abu Dhabi. “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.”

When it comes to his game plan, Abdelwahab says the objective is simple: Finish the fight and 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 growing influence in combat sports and its efforts to promote martial arts at every level.

“It’s a huge difference from a couple of years ago,” he said. “Abu Dhabi started growing in the sport and growing the organisations and everything, especially in the Middle East. I can rank Abu Dhabi, as No1 – 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.”

‘This is all part of God’s timing’

Also taking to the octagon under an Arab flag on Saturday will be Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady, for whom UFC 321 marks a long-awaited comeback to competition 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 Brazilian Matheus Camilo on Saturday. “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.”

Having started his career more than a decade ago, Al-Selwady has witnessed first-hand the region’s rapid development in MMA. Now, as one of the few Arab fighters still active from that era, he considers himself well-placed to analyse the region’s growth within the sport.

“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.”

From Cairo to Amman and now Abu Dhabi, Abdelwahab and Al-Selwady showcase the fighting spirit driving the Middle East’s rise in global mixed martial arts. At UFC 321 on Saturday night, the spotlight will fall for a period firmly on the Arab warriors leading that charge – and the fans inside the Etihad Arena will be sure to make their support known.