Despite it being characterized by bloody faces and bruised egos, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) still remains one of the fastest growing sports in the world at the moment.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), one of the largest MMA promotion organizations, features some of the most interesting MMA fighters from Africa.
Though not common in the African culture, a lot of Africans are making their mark in the brutal combat sport but/and the biggest of them all is Kamuru Usman.
Nigeria born Kamaru Usman, nick named the “Nigerian Nightmare”, moved to the USA at the age of seven. He discovered a passion for wrestling and won a national title whiles in college at the University of Nebraska. He further went on to pursue a career in MMA in 2012 and became the UFC welterweight champion in 2019 thus making him the first African to win an Ultimate Fighting Championship title.
Aside Usman, other exciting African fighters worth keeping an eye on in the UFC are Israel Adesanya (Nigeria), Francis Ngannou (Cameroon), and Abdul Razak Alhassan (Ghana).
Watching Israel Adesanya a.k.a. the last style benderfight is like playing a video game. He has an impressive record of 16 wins, with no defeat and has the opportunity to make history by becoming the second African to hold a UFC belt on April 14, 2019, in Atlanta, USA.
Francis Ngannou, a hard hitting Cameroonian is also an exciting prospect in the Heavy Weight (HW) division of the UFC. Engaged in manual labouring work in Cameroon, he decided to migrate to the United States of America to test he luck in MMA. He met Fernand Lopez who trained him in the gym and later helped him to join the UFC. He has been magnificent after stepping in the Octagon, which is the highest stage for matches in the UFC, knocking out former HW champions like Alistair Overeem and Cain Velasquez.
Ghana has a long history of breeding combat sports champions and Abdul Razak Alhassan is one of them. “Judo Thunder” as he’s known on social media is coming off a spectacular first round knockout of Niko Price, a fighter who had never been knocked out or submitted (giving up in a fight), he is poised to accomplish the feat of becoming Ghana’s first Mixed Martial Artist to win a belt in a major promotion.
Sodiq Yussuf and Kennedy Nzechukwu are also two new prospect inducted into the UFC after excelling in Dana White’s Tuesday Contender series.
Sodiq Yussuf, a Nigerian native is well rounded mixed martial artist with heavy punches and excellent technique in the FW division. He has won seven and lost one, as he promises to take the name of his home country higher.
With an undefeated record of 6-0-0, Kennedy Nzechukwu has unusual MMA style which makes it difficult for his opponents to figure him out. He has a long reach and knows how to use it effectively in the Octagon.
With all these fighters lifting the name of Africa higher, there’s no doubt in my mind that the UFC has come to stay and will soon catch up in Africa.
By Teddy Osei-Fordjour,
Mixed Martial Arts Analyst
