MMA team get heroic welcome in Lagos

Victorious Nigerian fighters in the Mixed Martial Arts event at the 2023 African Games in Ghana were on Friday feted by the management of the Lagos Continental Hotel, in honour of their medals haul at the Games, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

MMA made its first appearance as a demonstration sport at the ongoing 13th African Games in Ghana and Nigeria topped the medals table with five golds, three silver and one bronze medal among other countries like Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Libya and hosts Ghana.

The gold medallists are Muzan Richard (120.5kg), Eze Daniel (83.9kg), Busayo Idowu (52.2kg), Olanike Sodiq (61.2kg) and Joy Obanla (65.8kg).

The silver medallists are Blessing Karo (61.2kg), Benard Eweh (65.8kg) and Winifred Peter (47.6kg) while the lone bronze medallist is Albert Idowu (70.3kg).

The nine fighters were selected among 60 athletes that took part in the national tournament which held February 18, at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

In order to achieve their dreams, the fighters made a road trip of about 10 hours to Accra .

Silver medallist Idowu, who started as a boxer described her Accra experience as “worthwhile”, stressing that it has strengthened her resolve to make a name for herself in MMA.

General Manager of Continental Group Nigeria, Karl Hala, described the medallists as role models for Nigerian youths.

“We are proud of your performance in Ghana and this is another importance of sports and youth support, which we hope will bring a bright future and hope for a long and fruitful partnership with Boxing and MMA Hall of Fame (HOF),” Hala said.

General Secretary of Boxing and MMA Hall of Fame and official representative of the Global Association Of Mixed Martial Arts (GAMMA) in Nigeria, Kehinde Soyannwo also said, “Boxing and MMA Hall of Fame’s mission, as our honorable founder, Wale Edun said, is to give a chance to excel and make Nigeria proud on the World stage as amateurs and even professionals. And we are witnessing this moment of pride now.”

Officially MMA has been recognised in Africa by the Association of African Sports Confederations (AASC), GAMMA has 20 recognised and active member federations on the continent, including the host federation – Ghanaian Mixed Martial Arts Association.

GAMMA’s vision is to see Mixed Martial Arts formally recognised as a sport by the Olympic movement and listed at the Olympic Games.