Mixed Martial Arts MMA in Nigeria came under bright spotlight in Abuja as Akalaka Spirit of Warrior delivered Battle of the Paikokun Mountain championship at the Wakanda Games Arena, Wuse Zone 5.
The 8-bout international combat sports spectacle produced 5 stoppages with Nigeria’s undefeated middleweight fighter Yahuza “Smilestrong” Yahaya submitting his Congolese opponent Christopher Moly in the 2nd round to emerge fighter of the night.
Accompanying Yahuza, for his sublime efforts, was a N1 million prize donation made by the Vice President of Akalaka Spirit of Warrior, Engineer Christopher Nwokolo.
In other highlights, Nigeria’s MMA poster boy Jeb ‘Captain Hook’ Philemon wowed audiences with a flamboyant performance to beat Pelaja Osoba in the 75kg category, The Woman King Terlumun Doose made light work of debutant Immaculata Nelson in the women’s batamweight while Octave Ayinde scored a crushing defeat on Vincent ‘Iron Fist’ Ebenezer.
The well attended evening showpiece – which dovetailed into the early hours of 31 March 2024 – kicked off with debutant David Ezekiel punching above his weight in a split decision win over a more experienced Christopher Swande in the -65kg category.
There was no chance of back to back debut wins on the night as the Praying Mantis Stanford Ebere survived a late rally from newbie Felix Ncheta of the Heroes Gym to eke out a split decision victory.
Abuja crowd puller Peter Onuh stunned Dilichukwu Ohabuire with a technical knockout win in the 3rd round of the 71kg class, while a forgettable middleweight matchup between Ephraim Onwuanyia and Earnest Ugwuanyi ended in a 1st round TKO for the former.
Up steps in Jeb ‘Captain Hook’ Philemon to lift spirits at the Arena in the -75kg class.
The Nigeria MMA poster boy dazzled on the night, raining down a barrage of ground strikes on Osoba who suffered multiple takedown slams to slump to a unanimous decision loss.
Charged moments continued in another middleweight battle where Nigeria’s Yahuza collided with his Congolese opponent Moly who is a no stranger to taking out Nigerian fighters.
Both fighters engaged in a massive scramble for ground control with Moly the more aggressive one.
In one of the ground exchanges, Moly exposed his back for Yahuza to lock up a body triangle, applying a rear naked choke to force out the tap from the Congolese who was left in disbelief.
Moly’s corner insisted on a rematch, and Dr Ebere Bernard, the CEO of Akalaka Spirit of Warrior and Youth Director in the Nigeria Mixed Martial Arts Federation NMMAF wasted no time in granting the Congolese his wish.
The co-main event featuring an all ladies affair brought fight fans to their feet as the Woman King Terlumun Doose extended her winning streak to 5.
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The 22yr old Nigerian MMA Amazon went straight into business from the off, subjecting debutant Immaculata Nelson to a hail of ground strikes.
As the punishment became unbearable, with Immaculate seemingly unable to fight back, the cage referee Paul Umeh intervened to save Nelson from further damage.
Expectedly, Doose’s fans jumped into he cage to celebrate with her as the fast rising grappler declares in the post bout interview that she’s ready for any challenge on her way to the biggest stage.
Nigeria Vs Cameroon main event drew the curtain on a night of heart pounding action.
Right from the start, it looked obvious that Cameroonian grappler Octave The Bantu Warrior was going to rip apart his Nigerian opponent Ebenezer ‘Iron Fist’ Vincent.
The 21 year old Nigerian striker who was making his 3rd appearance in MMA, found it difficult going toe to toe on the ground with The Bantu Warrior whose elbow strikes alloyed with multiple ground and pound led to blood streaming down the face of Iron Fist.
Referee saw enough and called off the fight, declaring Ayinde the winner in the 1st round via TKO, but the tough talking Ebenezer promised to make amends if a rematch comes his way.
According to Dr Benard, the Battle of Paikokun Mountain MMA event was geared towards raising awareness on challenging security situation in Nigeria, and a call for peaceful coexistence among various ethnic extractions in the country.
The Battle of Paikokun Mountain, organised in collaboration with NMMAF, followed up to last year’s MMA Night of Glamour and Glory which organisers Akalaka used to arrest the teeming combat sports audiences in Abuja.
