Nigerian mixed martial arts MMA took center stage in Abuja as the Akaraka Spirit of Warriors presented the Battle of the Paikokun Mountain Championship at the Wakanda Games Arena in Use Zone 5.
The eight-fight international martial arts spectacle produced five stoppages as undefeated Nigerian middleweight fighter Yahuza “Smilestrong” Yahaya defeated Congolese opponent Christopher Morey in two rounds to emerge as the fighter of the night. did.
The noble endeavours of Yahuza were accompanied by the donation of a cash prize of N1 million by the Vice President of Akaraka Spirit of Warriors, Mr. Christopher Nwokolo, Engineer.
Other highlights include Jeb ‘Captain Hook’ Philemon, Nigeria’s leading mixed martial arts fighter, wowing the crowd with a spectacular performance defeating Pelaya Osoba in the 75kg category, and ‘Queen’ Terrumun Douce in the women’s title. Octave Ayinde scored one point with an easy decision over Batamweight debutant Immaculata Nelson. Lost to Vincent “Iron Fist” Ebenezer.
The evening’s show, which took place in the early morning hours of March 31, 2024, opened with a sold-out crowd as debutant David Ezekiel punched above his weight, defeating experienced Christopher Swand in the -65kg weight class. Won a split decision victory.
There was no chance of a winning streak on his debut this night as Kamakiri Stanford Ebele outlasted a late rally against Heroes Gym rookie Felix Ncheta to win by split decision.
Abuja crowd-pulling Peter Onu dominates Dilichukwu Ohabile with a technical knockout victory in the third round of the 71kg weight class, while the unforgettable middleweight clash between Ephraim Onwuanyi and Ernest Ugwuanyi continues with the former taking the first round It ended in TKO.
-Jeb “Captain Hook” Philemon in the -75kg class steps up to liven up the mood in the arena.
The Nigerian mixed martial arts star rained down ground strikes on Osoba that night, suffered multiple takedown slams and lost by unanimous decision.
In another middleweight fight, Nigeria’s Yafuza clashed with Congolese opponent Morey, who is used to defeating Nigerian fighters.
Both fighters engaged in a large-scale battle for ground control, with Morrie becoming the more aggressive fighter.
In one of the ground fights, Morey exposed his back as Yahuza locked in a triangle body, applied a rear naked choke and forced a tap out of the Congolese, who looked in disbelief.
Molly’s corner insisted on a rematch and Dr. Ebere Bernard, CEO of Akaraka Spirit of Warriors and youth director of the Nigerian Mixed Martial Arts Federation, NMMAF, wasted no time in making the Congolese man’s wish come true.
The co-main event, which featured an all-ladies match, had all the fight fans on their feet as Queen Terrumun Doos extended her winning streak to five.
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The 22-year-old Nigerian MMA Amazon hit the ground running, bombarding debutant Immaculata Nelson with ground strikes.
The punishment became excruciating and it looked like Immaculate would be unable to fight back, but cage referee Paul Ume intervened and saved Nelson from further damage.
As expected, Douce’s fans jumped into the cage to celebrate her, with the burgeoning grappler declaring in the post-fight interview that she was ready for any challenge on her way to the biggest stage.
An exciting night began with the main event between Nigeria and Cameroon.
From the start, it was clear that Cameroonian grappler Octave the Bantu Warrior was going to tear apart his Nigerian opponent, Ebenezer ‘Iron Fist’ Vincent.
Competing in MMA for the third time, the 21-year-old Nigerian striker fought toe-to-toe on the ground with Bantu Warrior, who drew blood from Iron Fist’s face with a combination of multiple ground-and-pound elbow strikes. I found it difficult.
The referee had the good sense to stop the fight and declare Ayinde the winner with a first-round TKO, but the harsh-spoken Ebenezer promised to make amends if they had a rematch.
According to Dr. Benard, the Paikokun Mountain Fight MMA event was aimed at raising awareness of the difficult security situation in Nigeria and calling for peaceful coexistence between the different ethnic groups in the country.
The Battle of Mount Paikokun, held in collaboration with NMMAF, follows last year’s MMA Nights of Glamor and Glory, which organizers Akaraka used to arrest martial arts spectators who flooded Abuja. .
