Hamdy Abdelwahab faced quite a bit of adversity before and during his UFC 321 win.
Abdelwahab (7-1-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) earned a lopsided unanimous decision win over Chris Barnett this past Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Abdelwahab scored nine takedowns and had more than 10 minutes of control time, but he wasn’t able to finish the fight.
Many questioned his sense of urgency after Barnett provided little to no offense, but Abdelwahab said there’s a reason. The Egyptian fighter revealed that he suffered a torn left pectoral muscle over a month out from his fight, which led to a broken hand in Round 1.
“This was my arm on Sept. 16, five weeks exactly before the fight, and I still didn’t pull out from the fight,” Abdelwahab told MMA Junkie. “And this was the reason why I broke my hand because I was throwing punches in the wrong way, because I was so scared to rip my arm again, which would cost me the fight.”
Abdelwahab is now 2-1 since returning from his almost three-year suspension. Post-UFC 321 reports have indicated that Abdelwahab was released from the UFC, but the 32-year-old simply fought out his contract and is hoping to secure a new deal.
