MONTERREY, MEXICO — Iowa State student Craig Omozeje won his division in the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Pan-American Championships Wednesday. 

A junior in computer science, Omozeje trains out of Myriad MMA Academy in Ames and represented the United States in the competition. Omozeje is also a member of the National Guard.

“It feels amazing,” Omozeje said. “It’s one of the highest, if not the highest, honors anyone can have, fighting for something bigger than myself.”

The IMMAF is a European organization that puts on high-level amateur MMA events, including world and continental championships, with the goal of eventually gaining Olympic status.

Omozeje had to go through three opponents to win the single-elimination five-man bracket. He fought in the junior 155-pound division.

In his first fight, he quickly took down El Salvador’s Angel Santos Lizama with a trip against the cage and secured an arm triangle choke midway through the first round to advance to the second round.

Omozeje was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States in 2019. He wrestled in high school and received interest from several Division I and Division II programs but decided to enroll at Iowa State.

When Omozeje came to Ames, he had the ambition of walking on to join the wrestling team, but after discovering the roster was full, he decided to make the transition to MMA.

He continued training with the Wrestling Club at Iowa State, but disaster struck in one of his matches in early 2024. Omozeje suffered an MCL tear and had to go through a recovery process before he could return to his full training schedule.

The injury forced him to pull out of what was scheduled to be his debut fight, but he was determined to get into the cage and scheduled his MMA debut for an amateur fight in October 2024.

“[I fought] on Absolute Combat League, owned by Victor Moreno,” Omozeje said. “He’s a great guy, helped me find my first fight. It was really tough finding my first fight. I couldn’t really find any opponents or anyone to fight the first time, but I eventually found someone. I got a first-round TKO in that fight, and ever since I just kept fighting.”

He continued to fight after the first-round victory and was 3-2 in amateur competition when he entered the Pan-American Championships.

The tournament has a grueling schedule, and Omozeje fought in the second round Tuesday, just one day after his first-round matchup. 

Lucca Uttemburgue from Brazil was the next opponent scheduled for Omozeje. In the second round of the fight, the Brazilian landed a takedown, but the Iowa State student was able to lock in an anaconda choke off of his back and force the submission.

“It’s scary. It’s really scary,” Omozeje said. “I have a mantra I like to say [when walking to the cage] and it just goes ‘unbeatable, unbreakable, can’t be beat, won’t be beat’ and I just keep saying really positive things in my head to keep me focused on my goal.”

Omozeje’s faith is a big factor in overcoming that fear. Before his final match, he said a prayer. 

“Lord, I am grateful because I have seen the glory you bestowed upon me, not by my will, but by yours,” Omozeje said. “It will be used to honor you and glorify you. I have seen it, and I will glorify you.” 

He carried that belief into his match in the finals against Team Mexico’s Ian Gael Gomez Garcia.

“[Faith is] the most important piece. It lets me fight with freedom,” Omozeje said. “I always fight to win, but at the end of the day, I fight because it’s a power God has given me and I have to use it to the fullest.”

In the final, Omozeje won a clear 30-27 decision over Gael to claim the tournament victory and become a Pan-American champion.

Justice Hefley, another fighter training at Myriad MMA, claimed gold in the senior lightweight division. Both fighters are coached by former Cyclone wrestler Kyven Gadson.

Gadson, the 2015 NCAA champion, has been a mentor to Omozeje during his time in Ames.

“He’s my coach, but he’s also my friend,” Omozeje said. “We have this kind of bond. We just crack jokes with each other.”

Hefley and Omozeje will both compete at the IMMAF World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, beginning Nov. 1.