Kamaru USMAN, 5Five 4Four Wrap Up First-ever-face Off Fight In Africa

HARRISON IYOHA

In what was a smooth-sailing full-on victory, Daniel “Big Shark” Emeka , the 1st Runner Up of the African KnockOut Season 1 defeated Ayivor “The Finisher” Mawuko in the biggest fight of the night at the first-ever Face-Off Fight Night in Lagos hosted by UFC Welterweight Champion, Kamaru Usman and organised by 5five 4four Limited.

The event, which had Jimmie D’Entertainer as fight announcer and Mawuli Gavor as presenter and Red Carpet Host, was all glitz and glam with star-studded guests and celebrities including The African Giant Burna Boy, comedian Bovi, reality TV star, Nengi Hampson, DJ Spinall, Olisa Adibua, Wofai Fada, William Uchemba, amongst many others.​

The fight night started with Damilare “Ring Beast” Abdulrahman fighting against Ugochukwu “ Nicontine” Melvin in what was an epic battle which saw Melvin emerge as the winner. While the second fight for the night had Jude “Hurricane” Ezugwu face Chidi “Resident Ninja” Nwankwo with Nwankwo as the victor, the third fight saw Cornel “Marine Boxer” Thompson defeat Richard “Black Panther” Onem in a tactical knockout. Emmanuel Onoja walloped Richard Muzaan into a sweet defeat in the fourth fight while Ayivor “The Finisher” Mawuko fell to the punches of Daniel “The Big Shark” Emeka in the final fight of the night.

Kamaru Usman, who returned to Nigeria to host the Face-Off Fight Night — the first edition of the Martial Mixed Art (MMA) — announced the fights series and revealed the vision behind this historic event in partnership with 5Five 4four as the sole aim of this platform is to provide opportunities for budding fighters in Africa. Speaking about the idea behind the partnership and the future plans, the Number 1 Pound for Pound fighter said: “It’s quite often that someone gets to a position of power and they want to help, but the difficult aspect is how to help. I have thought about it over and over on how I can help. How can I go back and create opportunities for children like myself and these are it and this is the best way to do that. I was able to run into my amazing partners who had a similar vision as well, and this vision is to create opportunities to be able to get all those kids like myself to change their lives or their families lives.​

“We all know it, this is Nigeria. When you are successful in the family, the whole household must come with you and so that’s part of what birthed this idea, being able to have that vision, being able to have amazing partners that can help you carry out that vision; and that’s why we are here today. This is our first event, our introductory event for everyone. We must remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day but it takes time to get the formula right. We’ve got future plans. It’s not just about doing a show, we want to do big things with this event, we want to be able to change the culture. We want to be able to change the way things are right now. We are not only creating those opportunities, but we want to do it for future generations to come. We have big plans to continue all this and we want to put it in a place of creating infrastructure to build things that are not only going to attract tourists to our great country but things that are going to bring economic stability to all of Nigeria and to eventually all of Africa.”

Kamaru Usman also formally launched his foundation to support food raising. Known for his passion for the wellbeing of children and to create champions, Kamaru’s Food Raising Initiative will be launched with the Lagos Foodbank, in partnership with Dufil Prima and Nigerian Breweries to support the Lagos Food Bank — to be able to reach the grassroots and less-privileged children on the street. This Initiative which is borne out of the desire to eradicate food insecurity made donation of food items to the Lagos Food Bank in partnership with Dufil Prima (Indomie) and Nigerian Breweries — the two brands, unique in their own way, loved by a majority of Nigerians and have grown to be household names in a community that fosters togetherness and general wellbeing, resulting in winning over the hearts and taste palates of both the young and the old.