The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the largest mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation in the world.
Despite it being an American competition, UFC fighters come from all over the world. Previously, American fighters dominated the competitions, but this has changed with time.
Currently, there are three UFC champions of African descent. Team Kenya takes you through some of the dominating African stars in the sport.
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Kamaru Usman
The first African UFC champion was Kamaru Usman. Kamaru was born and raised in Nigeria before moving to America as a kid.
Kamaru has had five successful title defences to his name since winning the welterweight crown in 2019.
Since being crowned champion, Usman has proven to be one of the best UFC fighters. The 33-year-old's last fight earnings was Ksh78 million (USD692,000) where he won against Jorge Masvidal.
Israel Adesanya
The second African UFC champion, Israel Adesanya was born in Nigeria before moving to New Zealand as a kid.
Adesanya who is currently the UFC middleweight champion for his fighting style was nicknamed "The Last Stylebender".
The 32-year-old started his UFC career in 2018, where he was up against Rob Wilkinson at UFC 221 where he emerged victorious winning the performance of the night award.
Adesanya last fight was against Robert Whittaker, it was reported that the middleweight champion pocketed Ksh175 million (USD1,542,000).
Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou is the most recent African to be crowned UFC champion.
The current reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion was born and raised in Cameroon before he immigrated to France for a chance at a better life.
In his recent fight, the 35-year-old Francis Ngannou pocketed Ksh68 million (USD600,000) after winning the undisputed UFC heavyweight title against Cyril Gane.
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