Kamaru Usman may be the first African champion in UFC, but there’s an entire continent on the rise
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At UFC 235, Kamaru Usman made history by defeating former welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley and became the first Nigerian to win a major MMA world title.
So what does this mean for Usman and his Nigerian roots?
I believe the UFC will make a push to promote Usman, something they didn’t do with Woodley. His Nigerian roots go very deep and his story is one the UFC is able to promote. Usman already has a huge following, he is one of the most talented guys in that division despite the fact that he hasn’t even been fighting for ten years.
I truly believe he could be a star in this sport and winning the belt will open opportunities for the UFC to even host an event in Africa at some point. Usman has been on a roll since winning The Ultimate Fighter, he has been perfect in the UFC, riding a 10 fight winning streak which is also the longest win streak in the welterweight division. His next title fight should be against a very out spoken man in Colby Covington. That fight should do some great numbers although I don’t feel we will see how big of a star Kamaru can actually be because of the fact that Colby can sell that fight by himself.
So who is going to be the next Nigerian champion: Israel Adesanya or Francis Ngannou?
I believe both men have a great chance of becoming a champion. Francis already had his shot at a title and lost via unanimous decision to Stipe Miocic. It’s inevitable that Francis will get another title shot at some point, he is now riding a 2 fight win streak and stopped both Curtis Blaydes and former heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez. Ngannou is a guy who does have tons of hype behind him, if he can keep this winning streak going he should have no problem getting a title shot before the end of the year.
Adesanya on the other hand, is a man who is starting to be feared by his peers. He will have the chance to be the second Nigerian champion when he takes on Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight championship at UFC 236. The Last Stylebender has a very big fan base, that is constantly growing. He has the personality that UFC fans want. His skills out weigh his trash talk and that’s always good to see. Adesanya can walk-the-walk and talk-the-talk. I see him being a real threat for anyone in that division for a very long time.
A continent on the rise.
Usaman, Adesanya, and Ngannou have opened the doors for other fighters from their native lands. We’ll consistently see more UFC fighters with African roots fighting in the Octagon and making noise while representing their countries. There are fighters who have been in the game for a while now such as Jimi Manuwa and Marc Diakiese. There are also many up-and-comers who have been making waves such as Sodiq Yusuff, Kennedy Nzechukwu along with others who may not be as known such as, Abu Azaitar and Don Madge.
Although the number of fighters with African roots is small, they will without a doubt rise in the coming years after they crowned their first champion in The Nigerian Nightmare, Kamaru Usman.
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