It was a tension-soaked Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight night in Abuja on Saturday, as Cameroon’s Octave Ayinde defeated Nigeria’s Vincent Ebenezer in the event’s main card.
This was after Nigeria’s Yahaya Yahuza had defeated Christopher Moly of DR Congo in the -84kg weight class.
A total of 16 fighters slugged it out for honours in eight blockbuster bouts at the Mo Arena, Abuja.
The Abuja Mixed Martial Arts Fight night was organised by Akala Spirit of the Warrior in collaboration with the Nigerian Mixed Martial Arts Federation (NMMAF).
Cameroon’s Ayinde wasted no time to assert his dominance as he quickly grappled and wrestled Nigeria’s Ebenezer to the ground, unloading a torrent of elbows to the head to secure the finish.
The effect of the strikes made blood gush out from the head of Ebenezer as the referee had to intervene and calling the attention of the medics.
The referee subsequently awarded a Technical Knockout (TKO) decision in favour of the Cameroonian, barely three minutes into the first round of the -77kg weight class encounter.
It was, however, joy for Nigeria in the 84kg weight class as Yahuza remained unbeaten in his MMA career, forcing erstwhile undefeated DR Congo’s Moly to submit early in the first half of a pulsating encounter.
Moly was quite energetic at the onset as he looked for an early take down, using his wrestling and his physicality to get the better of Yahuza.
But, in a quick turn of events, the Congolese found himself being beaten to his own game when Yahuza wriggled free and tried to execute the Brazilian jujitsu technique as he went in search of the winner.
He flipped his opponent backwards to the canvas and then timed a well executed rear-naked choke which forced the Congolese to tap out with less than one minute left in the very first round
The co-main event of the evening also saw Nigeria’s undefeated female sensation, Terlumun Gertrude, aka “the woman king,” successfully defended her belt in the Bantam weight category.
Gertrude had earlier dispatched compatriot Immaculata Nelson, with a successful takedown before landing some devastating strikes to her head.
The referee had to intervene and eventually awarded a TKO decision to Gertrude early in the first round as Nelson continued to defend and receive a lot of punishment without any response.
Results of other bouts saw Ephraim Onwuania defeat Ernest Ugwuanyi in a boring one-sided encounter by way of TKO in the middle weight class.
Peter Onuh defeated Dilli Ohabuire by TKO in the -71kg weight class, while Jeb Philemon humbled Osoba Peleja by split decision in the -75kg weight class.
Stanford Ebere defeated Felix Ncheta by a split decision in the Bantam weight class, while Swande Christopher also defeated David Ezekiel by a split decision in the -65kg weight class
Some dignitaries at the event include James Christoff, the Canadian Ambassador to Nigeria, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 7, Ogundele Ayodeji who was represented by CSP Kalu Chijioke, Chairman, Police Mixed Martial Arts Association.
Others at the event were Ebere Benard, the Youth Director, NMMAF and CEO, Akala Spirit of the Warrior, as well as Chris Nwokolo, the Vice President, Akala Spirit of the Warrior.
Also present at the event were Faridah Wada, the wife to the former Governor of Kogi State, Israel Inwang, the Secretary General, NMMAF, as well as some members of the diplomatic corps.
