The Incredible Story of Shem Rock: From Fleeing the Law to Dominating the Octagon

Shem Rock. That this name doesn’t mean anything to you? So be alert on April 29. This is because he is a potentially great future star of the Octagon. The English fighter has an incredible story behind him, which could easily be filmed.

Shaqueme “Shem” Rock is the Octagon’s new acquisition. He is already a relatively big name in England, but he is yet to build his name here. But the incredible life story that the 29-year-old fighter has behind him can help him to do this.

He grew up in Liverpool and did not come from the best of circumstances. He soon became involved in the sale of marijuana, but that was not the end. He made more and more money and considered dropping out of school, thinking that if he was making a lot of money, he didn’t need it.

“When I was 16 to 18 years old, I started riding in bigger and bigger things. At that time I was charged with grievous bodily harm, which paradoxically I did. I was a drug dealer, I fought in the street, but I never robbed houses.” says Shem Rock in a documentary from the Octagon workshop.

The police went all the way to the school for him, from which he was eventually kicked out. He was subsequently released on bail, BUT. His lawyer called him saying that the police had made a mistake and that he should be returned to custody. And that was not an option the Englishman wanted to take.

“I told her to tell them I’d be back in the morning and that I had no way of getting there. But I knew immediately that I would run away. After all I had been through, I didn’t believe I would get justice. I’m certainly not going to sit for something I didn’t do. I was young and naive, so I ran away. I probably shouldn’t have, but I’m glad because otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten into combat sports,” he revealed.

Shem Rock fled his own country and Europe

So when the new day dawned, Shaquele woke up as early as 5 or 6 in the morning. He was afraid that the police would come to his house. He quickly applied for a passport, which was processed that day, and then boarded the train from Liverpool to London. There he boarded a train to France and even went through security when the controllers did not scan his passport.

“Then I was afraid that there would be another control at the border. I was still sweating. But then they already reported that we were in France. I could not believe it. I didn’t believe I’d make it past London, let alone France or Thailand. I just said to myself ‘screw the police’ and I’m going to make it as difficult as possible for them.” describes his story.

Shem only got into combat sports in Malaysia. He came across a sign advertising Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes and went to try it. He used to fight, he was also in shape, he was strengthening. He believed it would be a piece of cake for him. But he was very wrong.

When the coach involved him in training, everyone outdid him. Women, children. Even one twelve-year-old boy allegedly strangled him “in about a hundred ways.”

However, as anyone can guess, the English fighter has made huge progress. He quickly improved. He even represented Great Britain on the run at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships. And then he got into MMA.

He spent half a year in prison, now Shem Rock intends to dominate the Octagon

Once Shaqueme started MMA, he was advised to sign up for a tournament. In that he made it to the finals. However, the organizers found out that he was wanted and so they excluded him. But the owner of his gym arranged through the British embassy that he could fight without being arrested.

But later, precisely because he was wanted, he was also expelled from his gym in Malaysia. And what else? Return to Europe: “It would be the same at Liverpool. So I went to Dublin. In the gym, I immediately said that I was wanted and that I used to be a criminal, but I’m not anymore. I told them why I was wanted and that I was innocent. They were fine with it on the condition that I would train without problems and behave well.”

Once Rock was in Europe, he didn’t feel like running away all the time. He accepted an offer to fight in Belfast, i.e. on the territory of Great Britain. He won the title, but in his first defense he got a double KO. First from an opponent, then he was arrested by the police and taken to Liverpool. No bail available.

“They told me at the court that I traveled with a fake passport and therefore I would not be released on bail, they said I would run away again. But I traveled the world on my passport, I never used a foreign one. Then I was in prison for six months. It wasn’t really anything nice. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. It was the worst stage of my life. But I had to stop to get to where I am now,” he says.

A trial followed, an acquittal, a release, and Shem was free. He quickly headed to the Liverpool gym and trained with UFC stars Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann at the very first training session.

And what does he say to Octagon fans? “I will be the biggest star. I will get the belt in lightweight and featherweight. People will remember me. It doesn’t matter who I’m fighting. I only see the body and don’t care more. It is not a game or entertainment. It’s a fight to the death. If I don’t shoot my opponent, he will shoot me in front of my family. I will not allow that.’

However, he has one more big dream. He wants to have his own gym, where he will teach boys who were not lucky in life. He wants to keep them off the streets because he knows he would have needed something like that himself in his youth.

Source: Octagon MMA, Sherdog