Michael Dawodu was one of the star performers of the night as he powered to victory with other top competitors at the Akalaka Spirit of the Warrior Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event in Abuja.
The exhilarating fight night branded “Battle of Gwarinpa” had 16 fighters light up the cage at the 21 Arena, National Council for Arts and Culture with battles across featherweight, bantamweight, lightweight and strawweight divisions.
Dawodu was one of the biggest wins of the night stopping Destiny Ekpo via second round technical knockout (TKO) in the men’s 66kg featherweight division. He was cool but explosive, and he got some loud shouts from the spectators. You can see his reputation as a force in the division is increasing.
Emmanuel “Knockout Machine” Benard closed the night with a dominant performance to defeat Yakubu “Black Scorpion” Solomon by majority decision after three grueling rounds in the men’s -61kg bantamweight class. The bout was voted best fight of the night and Benard was awarded the best male fighter.
“Focused on what I had to do and trusted my training. My opponent was strong but strategy made the difference,” Benard said after the fight.
He praised the victory to his coach and fans who travelled all the way from Lagos.
“Thank you to everybody that came out to support me. He said: “This victory is for them.
In the co-main event, Victoria “The Hunter” Uduak demonstrated her dominance in the women’s category, stopping Blessing “Chibok Girl” Shettima in the first round TKO in the 65kg featherweight division to take home the best female fighter award.
Other famous winners also made powerful comments on the night. Sunday George was sent to the canvas with a first-round TKO by Nasirudeen Abdulkareem in the bantamweight division, while Balikis Quadri submitted Cynthia Philips with a rear naked choke in the second round of their women’s strawweight contest.
Christopher Swande earned a clinical triangle choke submission win over Cornelius Godpower and Peter Onuh wasted no time in stopping Goodluck Opara via first-round TKO in their featherweight bout.
But Joseph James and David Ezekiel settled for a draw after a closely fought lightweight battle, each scoring 74 points.
Dr. Ebere Benard, President of Akalaka Spirit of the Warrior said the event was meant to harness youth potential and develop discipline via sport.
‘We are utilizing MMA as a tool to take young people away from social vices and channel their energies into profitable ventures,’ he stated.
“This program keeps growing and giving fighters exposure and chances to compete at higher levels.”
Martial arts is not only about competition, he said, and encouraged youth to embrace its essential ideals.
“Martial arts teach discipline, respect and control,” he said, “values urgently needed in our society, and this is what we want to pass on to the youth.”
The greatest triumph is not against an opponent, but over the wrath, turmoil and hatred within ourselves.
The Chief Executive Officer of Option A International, Idowu Olusareyo, complimented the organisers for continuing grassroots development.
“Nigeria has a lot of talent. He said: “To support events like this is what gives young fighters the exposure they need to be successful.
Also speaking, Abubakar Marwa of Marwa Self Defence applauded the organisation and buzz generated by the event calling it as a huge boost for MMA in Abuja.
The event also had a notable acknowledgment moment as Dr Benard was granted a 7th degree black belt by the World Jidokwan Federation President from Korea, in appreciation of almost three decades of dedication to martial arts, youth development and worldwide peace advocacy.
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