{"id":126199,"date":"2025-09-07T08:48:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T08:48:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/126199\/"},"modified":"2025-09-07T08:48:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T08:48:07","slug":"african-mma-ako-10-delivers-electrifying-fights-crowns-new-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/126199\/","title":{"rendered":"African MMA: AKO 10 delivers electrifying fights, crowns new champions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/theakoshow\/?hl=en\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The African Knockout Championship (AKO)<\/a> once again proved its place as the continent\u2019s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) event as AKO 10 roared to life at the Abuja Velodrome, leaving fans with a night of action, heart, and history that will not soon be forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>The championship drew a high-powered audience, with several distinguished figures in attendance, including the Honourable Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Chairman of Nigeria\u2019s Sports Commission, Alhaji Shehu Dikko, AKO President Kamaru Usman, the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, and ambassadors representing Algeria, Cuba, Senegal, Cameroon, and Morocco. Their presence continues to highlight the growing global recognition of African combat sports and the platform AKO is building for athletes across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Inside the cage, the battles were as fierce as they were dramatic. The most dramatic finish of the evening came from Jean \u201cThe Black Panther\u201d Do Santos, who stunned the arena and the MMA world with a flying knee that knocked out Nigeria\u2019s Jibrin Baba in just five seconds. The electrifying finish not only crowned him the first-ever AKO Lightweight Champion but also set a new record for the fastest knockout in AKO history. Meanwhile, Jane Osigwe etched her name in AKO history by capturing the Women\u2019s Bantamweight Interim Championship title with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Sanaa Mandar. It was a razor-thin battle, but Osigwe\u2019s determination shone through as she walked away with the gold.<\/p>\n<p>The championships continued to deliver marquee moments. Senegal\u2019s Gasmire Diatta captured the Interim Featherweight Title with a crushing TKO over Angola\u2019s Andre Mukisi at 1:30 of Round 2, cementing his status as one of Africa\u2019s rising stars. Nigeria\u2019s own Yahaya Yahuza reminded fans why he is one of the brightest stars on the rise. With relentless pace and precision, he outworked Cherif Drame across three rounds to claim a dominant unanimous decision victory, keeping his undefeated record intact in front of an adoring home crowd.<\/p>\n<p>Other fights in the cage delivered equally explosive outcomes: In the women\u2019s bantamweight division, Joy Obanla gave the home fans something to cheer about with a sensational second-round TKO over Ufot Nelson at 4:38, marking her as a dominant force in her class. Farouk Boudissa wasted no time, forcing Chukwuemerie Okoli into a rear-naked choke submission just 1:12 into the first round, while Fouad Madani imposed his will on Nigeria\u2019s Sodiq Amao, securing another rear-naked choke victory at 3:24 of Round 1. Zimbabwe\u2019s Lewis Mataya, stopped Ivory Coast\u2019s Prince Mensan with a brutal TKO at 4:49 of Round 2, a finish that had the crowd on its feet. In a gritty middleweight contest, Cameroon\u2019s Cabrel Fongno emerged victorious after earning a judge\u2019s technical decision when Memon Kone was unable to continue following a groin strike.<\/p>\n<p>By the time the final bell rang, AKO 10 had delivered everything fans could hope for. From electrifying fights, to breakout performances, and unforgettable moments that will echo through African combat sports for years to come.<\/p>\n<p>        <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The African Knockout Championship (AKO) once again proved its place as the continent\u2019s premier mixed martial arts (MMA)&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[69461,49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-126199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-african-knockout-championship","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}