How Nigerian Athletes Are Taking Over The UFC

While the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has only been active since 1993 (when it was officially acknowledged as a professional MMA organization), the sport's lengthy and illustrious history dates back far longer. The origins of the UFC athletes and mixed martial arts, in general, can be traced all the way back to the Greek Olympic Games in 648 BC when the Pankration competition was first held. Fast forward around 800 years, and the world would see a Brazilian variant of mixed martial arts (MMA) known as Vale Tudo (which translates to "everything goes"), kindling a considerably more significant interest in the sport than had previously existed. It wasn't long before mixed martial arts (MMA) clubs began to spring up all over the nation, but the UFC stood out as a unique entity. As the name indicates, their goal was to determine the world's greatest fighting champion by staging multiple bouts in various combat disciplines.

There are three African fighters on the UFC's 2022 roster who stand out from the rest: Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman, and Francis Ngannou. The UFC's 2022 roster is filled with vicious warriors, but truly the fighters like Ngannou, Adesanya, and Usman are head and shoulders above the rest. Today you will learn about these African fighters to see what makes them so distinct from the others.

Israel Adesanya 

Nigerian-born Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Oluwafemi Owlolabi Adesanya is technically a New Zealander, according to his citizenship. Besides being the current UFC Middleweight Champion, this fighter is also a kickboxer and a former Glory Middleweight Championship challenger, among other accomplishments. Born as the eldest of five children in Lagos, Nigeria, his life started in Africa. Following an accident, he began training in Taekwondo at an early age, which his worried mother quickly terminated due to his growing love for the sport as a child. At the age of eighteen, his passion for martial arts was rekindled, and he started training in kickboxing in earnest for the first time. In fact, he saw so much promise in a fighter's career that he chose to drop out of college and dedicate his time to fighting full time. At the age of twenty-one, Israel made the life-altering decision to go to New Zealand and begin studying with Eugene Bareman. He didn't have to wait long before he earned his stripes and started participating in high-profile contests. 

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced in December 2017 that Israel had signed a deal with them. He won his very first bout, laying the groundwork for what is presently developing into an illustrious professional career.

Kamaru Usman 

Nigerian fighter Kamaru Usman is another reasonable justification for Nigerian Athletes taking over the UFC. Born in Auchi, Nigeria, to an army major and a teacher (his father), Usman and his two brothers grew up in Benin City, Nigeria, before moving to America when he was eight. Usman began wrestling as a high school student in Dallas, Texas. He excelled in the sport and continued to do so during his college career at William Penn University. His inherent skill bloomed when he transferred to the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and the young Usman finished in the top three nationally for MMA for each of the three years he was at the school. While his Olympic dreams were dashed, he was inspired to become a fighter on the reality show The Ultimate Fighting Championship. He entered the tournament in February 2015 and went to the quarterfinals of his bracket, where he finished undefeated. He would go on to win the tournament, and the Performance of the Night award and a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in July of that year. 

Usman made his UFC debut in December 2015 against Leon Edward, which he won by unanimous decision. Over the next seven years, his star rose even higher after defending his hard-earned welterweight title against Gilbert Burns in 2021, which ended with Usman taking a TKO victory over Burns.

Francis Ngannou 

Stepping aside from Nigeria for a moment, we now feature an important fighter from Africa. A decade ago, Francis Ngannou left his Cameroonian hamlet of Batié to seek a boxing career in the United States. It took him more than a year to get to Paris, and he was homeless for months, sleeping in a parking lot at night. Ngannou spent his days in the gym, where he was introduced to mixed martial arts (MMA), which altered the course of his desire to become a professional fighter.

Ngannou, who measures 6-foot-4 and weighs 263 pounds, won the UFC heavyweight championship in March 2021 against Stipe Miocic with a second-round knockout. Ngannou has inked an endorsement deal with Gymshark, a training equipment company in the United Kingdom that bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts have historically dominated. Ngannou, 35, is one of only two non-bodybuilding professional athletes to remain with the firm, the other being former interim WBC lightweight champion Ryan Garcia. Ngannou also represents the French national team in boxing. Ngannou, often nicknamed "The Predator," has a 17-3 mixed martial arts (MMA) record.

African Talent Is The Future. 

With these fighters' careers still in their early stages, one can only speculate about the plethora of talent emerging from African countries like Cameroon and Nigeria. If the performances of these fighters are any indication, Africa will almost certainly have more athletes to add to the UFC roster in the future.

This article originally came from Pulse Sport