Lagos is ready to witness historical past because the AFC World Sequence begins a four-day showcase of combined martial arts (MMA), bringing collectively over 70 athletes from throughout Nigeria and past.
The occasion which shall be happening on the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports activities Corridor on the Teslim Balogun Stadium, is the primary of its sort in Africa — a privately run promotion that has been formally recognised by nationwide and continental federations.
For Raad Aswani, the founding father of AFC World Sequence, this milestone represents each a dream and a mission to provide African fighters the platform they deserve.
“The subsequent 4 days, you’re going to see explosive bouts,” Mr Aswani instructed reporters at a press parley in Lagos. “We’ve got 72 to 76 athletes registered, together with feminine strawweights, and they’re desperate to step into the cage. It’s going to finish with an attractive awards ceremony that shines a highlight on their onerous work. From leisure to pure sport, folks ought to prepare for one thing particular.”
The competitors has been endorsed by the Nigerian Combined Martial Arts Federation (NMMAF), the Nationwide Sports activities Fee, the Lagos State Sports activities Fee, and the African Combined Martial Arts Confederation.
Which means outcomes from Lagos will now depend towards Africa’s first unified rating system for MMA, creating a transparent path from the beginner stage to the worldwide stage.
Henry George, president of the NMMAF, defined why this issues.
“Lots of people watch the UFC or PFL however neglect the years of beginner fights athletes undergo earlier than they turn out to be professionals,” he mentioned. “Via AFC, we now have a structured programme referred to as the Highway to AFC. Athletes will want a minimal of 10 beginner bouts earlier than turning professional. That’s how it’s executed worldwide, and now Africa has the identical construction.”
For Mr Aswani, the occasion can be deeply private.
He recalled how watching boxing champion Lennox Lewis as a toddler sparked his ardour for fight sports activities. “I’ve all the time cherished this sport,” he mentioned. “However I didn’t wish to be Don King or Dana White. I needed to be myself, Raad, and assist Nigerian and African athletes obtain their desires. That is about constructing the subsequent era.”
The influence of that imaginative and prescient is already seen. Worldwide promotions are paying consideration, with the Skilled Fighters League (PFL) keeping track of rising expertise from the AFC. Fighters like Octave “The Bantu Warrior,” now competing in PFL Africa, are proof that the pipeline is actual.
UFC star Sodiq Yusuf, who’s in Lagos to help the competitors, pressured the significance of constructing alternatives at residence.
“Nigeria has a lot uncooked expertise,” he mentioned. “With platforms like this, fighters gained’t have to depart the nation to go professional. They will rise from Nigeria to the world.”
Past the cage, the AFC World Sequence can be making an attempt to create a wider influence.
Its programmes concentrate on growing younger folks, opening alternatives for girls, and turning gyms into protected areas that double as training and coaching centres.
Mr Aswani calls it constructing “full athletes” — individuals who can succeed each out and in of the game.
By the point medals are awarded on the closing ceremony, with officers from the Nationwide Sports activities Fee set to personally honour the champions, Lagos would have witnessed greater than only a competitors.
Will probably be the start of a brand new chapter for MMA in Africa — one which locations Nigerian fighters firmly on the worldwide map.
“That is about Africa taking its place within the sport,” Mr Aswani mentioned. “The long run begins right here in Lagos.”
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