The dark side of the UFC’s “take it or leave it” matchmaking culture has resurfaced again, and this time it comes from a freshly axed fighter with some serious receipts. Former UFC lightweight Shem Rock recently spoke out about his brief time in the promotion, claiming he was forced by his management and the UFC to accept the fight at UFC London despite suffering a serious injury just weeks prior.

Speaking with JNMEDIA UK, Rock confessed that he tore his LCL six weeks prior to the event. But instead of being told to rest up, he claims he was given a brutal ultimatum by the Dana White-led promotion instead.

“I torn me LCL, six weeks out,” he said. “The next day I woke up, and I got a call off my manager: ‘Do you wanna fight on UFC London?’ I said, ‘I can’t even train; I need to rehab my knee.’ And I was told if I don’t accept the fight, maybe I don’t get any fights in a long time; maybe I don’t get any favorable matchups coming forward.

“It’s gonna be tough for us, either fighting or sitting at the bench. And I’m like, ‘I can’t even spar, I can’t even…’ But I thought, ‘I’ve done this before.'”

Shem Rock eventually entered the cage compromised, resulting in a lopsided decision loss to Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady. While some may consider this an excuse, it is worth noting that his claim lines up with what former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington said before leaving the company and retiring from MMA not too long ago.

It is worth noting that before leaving the promotion and announcing his retirement from MMA this year, Colby Covington tried to expose the UFC for freezing out fighters when they don’t go with their ideas.

“You have no say (in what happens),” Covington said during a livestream with N3on. “Hunter Campbell, who is like the UFC lawyer, he kind of just tells you what direction they’re gonna go and it’s either you take it or leave it, so you don’t really get a choice what you want to do.

“They just leave you and ice you; they won’t give you fights. They’ll let you just sit out and say, ‘Hey, you turned down this fight; now you’re not gonna fight for the year; we’re not gonna make money.’ They just freeze you out.”

According to ‘Chaos,’ all this pressure is built to make the fighter accept the fight.

“You’re forced,” he added. “Even if it’s not a good move and you don’t think you’re getting paid what you deserve, it doesn’t matter; they say either accept it and be a company man, or we’ll ice you and you don’t get to make money.”

And unfortunately for Paddy Pimblett‘s teammate, the gamble to fight with an LCL injury completely backfired.

What lies ahead for Shem Rock after his brutal exit from the UFC?

The submission expert entered the UFC with high expectations after a dominant run in OKTAGON and as a close teammate of Paddy Pimblett. However, he went 0-2 in the Octagon, losing his debut to Nurullo Aliev before the disastrous night in London.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t just the loss to Al-Selwady that possibly sealed his fate, but also the post-fight meltdown that made headlines. After Al-Selwady refused to shake his hand due to pre-fight trash talk, an enraged Shem Rock struck him after the final bell.

And as we all know, the UFC’s top brass has no patience for such violence following a loss. As a result, the Irishman was immediately removed from the active roster, along with veteran Pedro Munhoz, who, unlike Rock, voluntarily asked for his exit.

While Shem Rock has yet to sign with a new MMA promotion since his release, his former peer Colby Covington has proven there is life after the Octagon. ‘Chaos’ has entirely shifted his focus to the wrestling world, recently moving to 3-0 in the Real American Freestyle (RAF) after defeating Chris Weidman.

Now, the former UFC champion is all geared up to headline RAF 11 against UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan on July 18, 2026, in Milwaukee.

Given that Shem Rock has 9 submission wins on his 12-3-1 MMA record, taking his grappling skills to the RAF mats could be the best move he makes. It would certainly beat sitting on the bench, waiting for a phone call that may never come.