A UFC fighter who’s yet to make his debut is definitely no stranger to the highlight.
Earlier this month, Ronda Rousey highlighted Paddy Pimblett as a fighter who doesn’t just compete in front of a crowd, he entertains them and makes them tune in.
‘The Baddy’ immediately proved his star potential when he signed to the UFC in 2021 and began to build up the winning streak that he’s still on today.
Pimblett’s personality is a giant reason why his potential fight with Ilia Topuria is true at the highest of numerous fans’ wish lists heading into 2026.
Within the near future, a teammate of his who has also been known to get people talking, whether or not they love or hate him, will step contained in the Octagon for the primary time.
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Shem Rock was caught in the midst of a brawl with the fans at an open-air stadium within the Czech Republic
Together with giving his tackle Paddy Pimblett vs Ilia Topuria, recent UFC signing Shem Rock recently reflected on his profession up to now in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow.
Pimblett’s teammate has already competed in front of some huge crowds during his time in European promotion OKTAGON.
His fight at OKTAGON 58 in June of 2024 specifically gathered numerous interest following his tense rivalry with ex-police officer Jaroslav Pokorny.
Rock recalled what it was prefer to enter the open-air Fortuna Arena within the Czech Republic, where he was public enemy primary, only to supply a submission in the primary round.
“30,000 people. Everyone in there booing me on the walk out. Once I walked down that alleyway, everyone’s there, I can see everyone’s faces. They’re saying s—, they’re throwing s—. So then to go in there and silence the group in his own back garden, it was nice.”
Rock’s dislike of law enforcement, which is tied to the story of how he became a fighter, led to him stating, “you may have the correct to stay silent,” when he got a probability to talk after the win.
“I’m not shy and I’m not scared,” Rock recalled. “I do know there’s 30,000 people in there and in the event that they desired to, they might all activate me but I’m still going to slag them anyway, lad. I can’t help myself.”
The 31-year-old lightweight also added that what some people didn’t see was the response from the fans immediately after his win, with a ‘mass brawl’ kicking off inside the sector.
“All the crowd got here over and just began after which it just went off and everybody was just swinging and it just went left. That’s the part that we will’t let occur once we’re within the UFC on stages like this. But, I never threw any punches. I had security on each arm so it wasn’t on me.”
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Shem Rock describes telling his remarkable story over and yet again as a “catch-22”
When chatting with Bloody Elbow, Shem Rock described telling the remarkable story of how he got began in MMA as a “catch-22”.
The Reprimo athlete, who recently released an exclusive capsule via JD Sports in the USA, began to train while he was on the run for a criminal offense he didn’t commit, hence his dislike of law enforcement.
“I hate it lad,” Rock admitted when asked about telling his story.” I just want to point out up, fight, be left alone… The opposite side of the sword is how many individuals reach out to me and say that like I’ve modified their life. I don’t even know them. I get people coming to me on a regular basis, stopping me on the street. I get in a taxi, guy turns around and tells me I saved his life.”
There are already some great videos of Rock’s story, just like the Channel 4 documentary above.
While he’d prefer to deal with fighting slightly than consistently looking back, he also recognizes the impact that it could have on others.
“To not tell my story and to not spread the message, it’s almost worse than spreading it and it’s like I’ve got to sell an element of myself and that’s the part I don’t like nevertheless it is rewarding while you get to listen to the positive stories.”