5 Nigerian fighters dominating the UFC
On Sunday, July 1, 2022, Nigerian-born Israel Adesanya successfully defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight crown after defeating Jared Cannonier by a unanimous decision.
Adesanya is just one out of about five Nigerian fighters dominating the UFC.
The UFC is a mixed martial arts promotion company based in the United States. It was founded in 1993. The UFC currently has nine different divisions for their competitors, which include men and women. For a long time, US and Brazilian fighters dominated the fights, winning the titles in all divisions. Then Canada produced Georges St-Pierre (GSP), billionaire fighter Conor McGregor from Ireland while Dagestan had Khabib Nurmagomedov. These fighters dominated the UFC until Nigerian fighters began to emerge.
Now, Nigeria is the only country to produce UFC champions in a short time. There are currently five Nigerians proudly flying the green-white-green flag while walking into the octagon. These fighters have made the sport popular in Africa as fans are beginning to bet heavily on it as they do in football. In fact, news broke that American-Canadian rapper, Drake, betted $1 million on Adesanya’s victory in Sunday’s fight.
Let’s take a look at the five Nigerian fighters that are dominating the UFC.
Table of Content hide 1Nigerian fighters that are dominating the UFC 1.11. Isreal Adesanya 1.22. Usman Kamaru 1.33. Sodiq Yusuff 1.44. Kennedy Nzechukwu 1.55. Hakeem DawoduNigerian fighters that are dominating the UFC
1. Isreal Adesanya
Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya is the current man of the moment after defeating Jared Cannonier to retain his UFC middleweight title. Adesanya was born in Lagos and is the eldest of five children. He attended Chrisland School, Opebi, and joined Taekwondo after-school club before he was removed due to injury. His family moved temporarily to Ghana before finally relocating to New Zealand. There, Adesanya attended Rotorua Boys’ High School where he was a regular nerd and victim of bullying. It was his bullying experience that inspired him to learn martial arts.
Adesanya dropped out of Universal College of Learning and began a career in kickboxing. He amassed an amateur record of 32–0 before turning professional and fighting in China. At age 21, he returned to New Zealand to begin fighting in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) where he won his first 11 fights by knockouts. UFC later noticed the rising star and signed him in early 2018.
The “Last Stylebender” has Mohammed Ali’s charisma on the mic and gained many fans whenever he made a meme on social media. He is also notable for breakdancing skills on his way to the octagon. The Middleweight champion who is not shy to showcase his Nigerian heritage is currently on a 21-fight winning streak.
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2. Usman Kamaru
Kamarudeen Usman popularly known as the Nigerian Nightmare is the current face of the UFC. He was born in Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria, but was raised in the United States after experiencing poverty in Nigeria until he was 8 years old. Usman attended Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, where he started boxing in his sophomore year. He won a 53–3 record in high school wrestling and placed third at the Texas State Championships.
Usman transferred to the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), from William Penn University and subsequently helped the Lopers win their first-ever team title in 2008. He also placed top three in the nation all three years he attended UNK and was a two-time national finalist. After leaving college, Usman joined freestyle wrestling but left after he couldn’t qualify for the 2012 Olympics due to injuries. Instead, he turned to mixed martial arts and won his first title in 2015 after defeating Leon Edwards by unanimous decision.
Usman has since become one of the most dominant MMA fighters in history. He only has one loss in his record but broke GSP’s record for the longest win streak in the welterweight class. He is currently the UFC welterweight champion and has never been knocked out by anyone in the division.
3. Sodiq Yusuff
Sodiq Olamide Yusuff is another Nigerian fighter that is making waves in the UFC. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and immigrated to the United States with his mother and brother when he was nine years old.
Yusuff began fighting professionally in 2016 when he fought under numerous organisations and amassed a record of 6-1. In 2018, he participated in Dana White’s Contender Series 14 where he fought Mike Davies and won by unanimous decision. With the win, Yusuff was awarded a UFC contract and made his debut with a powerful technical knockout against Suman Mokhtarian in round one.
Yusuff has fought 13 times, winning 11 and losing two so far. He has been ranked 12th in the UFC featherweight rankings as of July 12, 2021.
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4. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Kennedy Ikenna Nzechukwu is a fast-rising star who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. He was born in Imo State, Nigeria but moved with his family to the United States in 2010. In 2015, he began training in mixed martial arts when his mother took him to Fortis MMA for some discipline. However, he officially began a career in mixed martial arts after dropping out of college when his mother was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
Nzechukwu racked two straight victories in the Xtreme Knockout organisation. He participated in Dana White’s Contender Series in 2017 and won against Anton Berzin via split decision but did not get a UFC contract. His second attempt was more successful after he defeated Dennis Bryant via first-round knockout in 2018 and got a UFC contract.
However, his 2019 debut against Paul Craig was unsuccessful as he was defeated via triangle choke in the third round. But he made a fantastic comeback by defeating Darko Stošić via unanimous decision the same year. The “African Savage” has lost one in ten fights so far. He has earned Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night in his career. Nzechukwu is scheduled to face Karl Roberson in the UFC on July 9, 2022.
5. Hakeem Dawodu
Hakeem Tyrone Dawodu is a Canadian UFC fighter in the Featherweight division. His mother is Nigerian while his father is Jamaican. Dawodu had a troubled childhood. First, his father was deported back to Jamaica when he was six years old leaving his mother to raise him alone. He developed a juvenile character and was sent to a juvenile detention center at the age of 14. Two years later, his counsellor placed him in a Muay Thai training class to help him control his volatile temper.
In 2014, Dawodu made his professional debut at WSOF Canada 1 against Behrang Yousefi whom he defeated via knockout in the first round. He remained undefeated throughout his time in the WSOF.
In 2017, he joined UFC but lost in his debut against Danny Henry via submission. Like Nzechukwu, Dawodu won his second fight via unanimous decision in the UFC when he faced Austin Arnett. So far, he has lost twice in eight fights.
Although Dawodu is Canadian, he attributes his fighting skills to his Nigerian heritage and carries the national colours with pride.
Who is your favorite Nigerian fighter in the UFC?
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