Kamaru Usman firm on promoting MMA in Nigeria following successful event, artist Burna Boy voices support

UFC 268: Kamaru Usman v Colby Covington 2

Kamaru Usman recently helped host the first-ever MMA card in Lagos in his home country of Nigeria.

The reigning UFC welterweight champion partnered up with The AKO Show (The African Knockout Show), a reality TV show based out of Nigeria, on a mission to promote MMA in the country.

'The Nigerian Nightmare' posted an update via his official Twitter account hinting that the reality series is a step towards promoting the sport of mixed martial arts in his native land of Nigeria.

"This is not one and done, this is a start to something beautiful," claimed Usman. "We thank everyone for coming out. We appreciate the love & support. Many more to come."

Many More to come 👊🏿🇳🇬🙏🏿 @TheAKOShow https://t.co/4T183cEbNV

The fight night was also attended by popular Nigerian singer Burna Boy, who's a friend of Usman's. Other celebrities Nedu, Chief Obi, Larry Gaga, Obi Cubana, Mr. Funny, Tayo Aina and Poco Lee also attended the event, keenly watching from ringside.

First of many my brother 👊🏿🇳🇬🙏🏿 twitter.com/burnaboyvoice/…

Usman is one of three African champions in the UFC, the other two being middleweight champ Israel Adesanya, who also hails from Nigeria, and the Cameroonian heavyweight king Francis Ngannou.

The trio have acclaimed wide recognition around the world for their performance. They are also seen as icons in their home nations.

The UFC said they were planning to go to Africa in 2022.

If they do…
Who headlines the card?

(We’re talking IF Francis beats Ciryl and Izzy wins the rematch with Rob) https://t.co/N2JRSf5QPJ

Francis Ngannou is also known for giving back to his home country like Kamaru Usman

Francis Ngannou, very much like Usman, appreciates the significance of giving back to his community. He showcased that when he opened a free MMA gym in his home country of Cameroon for kids.

Having grown up in extreme poverty, the UFC's current heavyweight champion inaugurated a foundation named after himself, 'The Francis Ngannou Foundation'. The aim of this foundation is to help kids and poverty-affected people in Cameroon.

Inspiring the next generation 🙌

@francis_ngannou took the UFC Heavyweight belt to show the children learning martial arts at his foundation in Batié, Cameroon. 🇨🇲 https://t.co/8OYDJuLSuT

His second gym was also inaugurated in May of 2021. At the inauguration of the second Francis Ngannou Foundation's gym, the knockout artist said:

"The Foundation is to give kids opportunities, for them to understand that someone cares about them. We just want to empower them so that they can pick up their dreams and follow them."

Francis Ngannou's foundation in Cameroon does amazing work for local communities.

But the founder doesn't go easy on the students 😅

(📹 via @Francis_Ngannou & UFC) https://t.co/XhZ8STgd1w