By MEET NIGERIAN TO BECOME FIRST EVER AFRICAN BOXER TO WIN UFC
With the likes of British-Nigerian, Anthony Joshua, making waves in the world of boxing, it is certainly not a surprise to see Nigerians doing great in diaspora but the narrative becomes extra ordinary when a Nigerian becomes the first holder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title.
Kamaru Usman after winning recently, the mixed-martial arts (MMA) bout against American Tyron Woodley, became the first African fighter to win the UFC.
The fighter, known as the “Nigerian Nightmare”, dominated the Las Vegas contest for the welterweight title.
The UFC is the biggest competition in MMA, where competitors combine boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and other disciplines while fighting in an octagonal cage.
The feat of the 31 year old has now dominated that of the long-reigning welterweight champion Woodley.
He extended his winning streak to 14 and maintained his unbeaten record in the UFC.
In his post-match press conference he revealed that before the match he had fractured his foot and had been walking around in a supportive boot all week.
He started off the press conference by greeting journalists in Arabic before switching to Pidgin.
“Nigeria, I have told them, we would do it, I told them we never fail. And we have done it today,” he said in Pidgin.
Usman was born in Nigeria, but left Benin City for Arlington in Texas as a young child when his family migrated to the US.
Twenty-three years later, he is proud of his nickname, the Nigerian Nightmare, he told BBC World Service’s Sportsworld.
This is what I was destined for – Usman
BlackBox gathered that Usman, a former winner of the Ultimate Fighter TV show, began wrestling at high school in Texas and was a top prospect throughout college.
