“Nigerian nightmare,” Kamaru Usman, becomes first African UFC champion

Kamaru Usman has become the first African fighter to win a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title.

He won the mixed-martial arts (MMA) bout against American Tyron Woodley.

The fighter, known as the “Nigerian Nightmare”, dominated the Las Vegas contest for the welterweight title.

The UFC is the biggest competition in MMA, where competitors combine boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, wrestling and other disciplines while fighting in an octagonal cage.

Usman, 31, produced the performance of his career to dominate long-reigning welterweight champion Woodley.

He extended his winning streak to 14 and maintained his unbeaten record in the UFC.

Usman was born in Nigeria, but left Benin City for Arlington in Texas as a young child when his family migrated to the US.

Twenty-three years later, he is proud of his nickname, the Nigerian Nightmare, he told BBC World Service’s Sportsworld.

But he is not the only sportsman known as the Nigerian Nightmare – something he is aware of.

He invited two others with the moniker to his match – the former professional boxer Samuel Peter and the former Kansas City Chiefs American Football, Christian Okoye.

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