From Africa’s heartland emerged a band of brothers united by survival and an acumen of organized violence. These were Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya. The Three Kings of African MMA made their mark in UFC competition like no other. As of the writing of this, all former titleholders have propelled the interest of combat sports culture in their nation by leaps and bounds.
Israel Adesanya recently made a return after a year-long layoff. He lost a title affair to South Africa’s Dricus Du Plessis at the UFC 305 pay-per-view (PPV) feature main event. They had a racially charged, heated build-up, deciding their one ‘true African’ mettle. However, Du Plessis and the Nigerian-based Kiwi have ended their beef for now.
With the undisputed gold still staying in the land, Kamaru Usman has now dubbed them the “Four Horsemen” of Africa. As such, it’s still a win for the country. However, this is the story of the extraordinary accomplishments of the ‘Three African Kings’ of UFC that started it all.
The Regents of African MMA
There was a big gaping hole before ‘Three African Kings.’ In the early days of the UFC, African talent was elusive. Veteran Jimi Manuwa is of Nigerian descent and grew up in Nigeria before moving to England. Manuwa was a competitor in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. His powerful, striking, and devastating KOs endeared him to fight fans. Although he has never won undisputed gold in the UFC, Jimmy Manuwa has been a top contender, earning several ‘Performance of the Night’ Bonuses.
There were others before the ‘Three African Kings’ of UFC (Source: X/ringtv.com)Similarly, Cameroonian fighter Rameau Thierry Sokoudjo (aka ‘The African Assassin’) began his career as a Judoka. In the same vein, he’d later transition to the broader scope of MMA. Sokoudjou earned recognition against top crops in Japan. This led to his signing with the UFC. He’d later transition to regular circuits. These fighters and others were trailblazers for the next seeds. Then came Francis Ngannou, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya.
The First King: Kamaru Usman
It all started with the college wrestler Kamaru Usman. He was born in Auchi, Edo state of Nigeria, to a Nigerian armyman and a teacher. Usman competed primarily at 185 lbs and was on the 2010 USA University World Team. In college, he competed at 174 pounds (-79 kg) and was the 2010 NCAA Division II National Champion, a three-time NCAA Division II All-American, and an NAIA National Qualifier.
Kamaru Usman was the first of Africa’s ‘Three Kings’ (Source: express.co.uk)Usman was the wrestling coach for “Team Miller” on TUF: Season 14. He made his pro-MMA debut in 2012 after a failed qualifier for the 2012 US Olympic Team Trials in freestyle wrestling. ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ is subsequently a TUF: Season 21 tournament winner. In his official debut, the future champion faced rival Leon Edwards at UFC on Fox 17. He won the unanimous nod.
Kamaru Usman became the first African King in the UFC on March 2, 2019, and held the title for over 1000 days. One of Usman’s defining moments was after his welterweight defense at UFC 261. He decorated his father with the belt shortly after his release, christening his family’s perfect recovery story. At a stout 20-4-0 record, the former pound-for-pound best has had wins over top 170-pound standouts like Edwards, Tyron Woodley, Jorge Masvidal, and Colby Covington. He lost his belt to ‘Rocky’ at UFC 278.
The Second King: Israel Adesanya
Since UFC 1 in the United States in 1993, events have been held in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East – it all switched up with the introduction of one Israel Adesanya. After Usman, ‘Stylebender’ brought the style factor to being a champion, veering eyes to Africa evermore. The former GLORY middleweight title challenger was a practitioner of soccer, kickboxing, and boxing before moving with his family to New Zealand. The eldest of five children, Adesanya was born in Lagos, Nigeria.
Israel Adesanya was next on the roster of the ‘Three African Kings’ (Source: Instagram)A King in the Ring Cruiserweights II tournament alum before that, Izzy is a combat sports veteran. His love for anime and his time at the Kunlun Fight 80 kg tournament bracket made him famous in the Chinese MMA circuit. He won via TKO in his UFC debut against Rob Wilkinson on 11 February 2018 at UFC 221.
Known for his “style-bending” approach, Adesanya has long been the poster boy for the UFC. His pay-per-view brand value increased during his rivalry with ex-GLORY rival Alex Pereira. After a five-round war with Kelvin Gastelum, Izzy became the interim champion. He would go on to defeat Robert Whittaker in 2019 to become the undisputed middleweight champion.
City Kickboxing NZ’s Izzy would lose and regain the undisputed gold again from Pereira. Along with Usman and Aussie buddy Alexander Volkanovski, he too went on a neat 5-0 reign. He consequently would lose the gold to Sean Strickland.
The Last King: Francis Ngannou
A true ‘Predator’ and consensus heavy-hitter of organized violence, this is the name that prompted it all. Born on September 5, 1986, in Batié, Cameroon, Francis ‘The Predator’ Ngannou is the oldest of the three. Ngannou lived in poverty and worked in a sand quarry in Batié. After departing from his father’s negative reputation as a street fighter, he started training in boxing and soon took up MMA.
Francis Ngannou debuted in the UFC on 19 December 2015 against newcomer Luis Henrique at UFC on Fox 17. The French-Cameroonian won via R2 knockout. Despite the arduous journey, it was only one way up from there. The UFC put Ngannou on the ultimate stage as one of the heavyweight’s most explosive fighters.
Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou joined Nigerian-born duo Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya (Source: boxemag.com)Subsequently, he did it with a lot of head-knocking and name-dropping. Some early “prey” included Alistair Overeem and Cain Velasquez in some of his high-profile wins. It also included a bounce back to KO Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight championship.
In 2017, Ngannou set the world record for the hardest punch ever recorded on the PowerKube at 129,161 Franklin! Despite his intimidating presence and raw power, he remained as humble as ever. Being the biggest of the trio, he soon became the cohesion and friendly factor that held the group together.
The Reign of Kings and the African Legacy
CEO and American promoter Dana White told BBC Sport Africa that Ngannou’s win and the trio together were raising the profile of MMA in the continent. It is similar to how Conor McGregor did in Europe. While they were champs, White even cultivated a whole African Grind and Performance Institute in the country. However, while they stayed friends, ‘Three African Kings’ lost their crown.
The ‘Three African Kings’ leave a legacy to capture (Source: UFC.go.com/boxemag.com/X/IMAGO)Edwards would headshot KO Usman. Later, on November 13, 2022, ‘Poatan’ would dethrone Izzy. Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya lost their stake to the gold multiple times. Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou would enter a protracted contract rehash on the issues of facing Jon Jones and soon leave the promotion. After his unrestricted free agency, UFC stripped the lineal HW champ of his undisputed gold. Ngannou is the second reigning champion to leave the UFC since BJ Penn in 2004.
While the third and last African King was also gone, what they started stayed on. The new era, with Du Plessis leading the guard, might see even further changes. Nigeria’s Kennedy Nzechukwu and ‘Super’ Sodiq Yusuff, Manel ‘Starboy’ Kape (Angola), Tafon Nchukwi (Cameroon), Mounir ‘The Sniper’ Lazzez (Tunisia), and David ‘Silent Assassin’ Onama (Uganda) are already proving brand-value contenders. The legacy of the ‘Three African Kings’ will always remain, even if they do not.
