‘Shem Rock Is The UK Face Of OKTAGON MMA’ – Next Gen Star Making Main Event Talk

OKTAGON MMA co-owner, Pavol Neruda, discussing the future of Shem Rock. See what he had to say below.

In his last outing, Shem Rock silenced the home crowd, as he submitted bitter rival, Joroslav Pokorny in front of 28,000 fans at Prague’s Eden Stadium. This saw Rock move to a three fight win streak, all by first round rear-naked chokes.

The divisive character has been making waves at OKTAGON MMA – Europe’s biggest MMA promotion – and is edging closer towards a main event slot.

Speaking on what’s next for Rock, OKTAGON MMA owner, Pavol Neruda commented:

“Sooner or later, I believe he will headline a show in Europe because I don’t think we are far away at all. To be a big star, you need two things; to be able to fight at a world class standard and you need to be interesting too.

“It is show business, so you need that element in your character. Shem has both, because he is a great fighter and a showman. It is so honest and raw though, he doesn’t play this game because it is real for him. He’s so crazy and funny, and I don’t think many people initially liked him but they can’t become fans of him.

“The more they listen to him, and then they see him fight, they like him more and more. The more he keeps on winning in emphatic fashion, the closer he will get to reaching his superstar potential. His star is growing right now in front of the world at OKTAGON, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Commenting on potential opponents for Rock, Neruda added:

“He is on a very good path, but there is more work to do in order to be the very best. Shem is definitely our biggest UK star right now, and that is something we are very proud of as well. And also Akonne Wanliss, this is another UK prospect who is representing the country with great pride.

“He is so athletic, he reminds me a bit of Jon Jones; very tall, very athletic and very smart with a good mentality as well inside the cage. Both he and Shem are going to be really big for the UK MMA scene.”

“Maybe in one of the next tournaments in England, it is possible we could see that in the future. 

“It would make sense, but my feelings are that they don’t want to fight each other. Maybe they are aware of the qualities that one another has, and would rather avoid that fight. I don’t know, but it is a fight I would love to see and I think it could be a very interesting fight.”

OKTAGON MMA has proven itself on the European MMA scene, with high-level production value combined with competitive and engaging match-making helping them become one of the leading MMA promotions in the world. They recently made the 5-promotion shortlist for MMA promotion of the year.

Roberto Villa

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.