Explosive night of international mixed martial arts spectacle dominates Battle of Paicock Mountain
Ibrahim Lateef
According to BSNSports.com.ng, Akaraka Spirit of Warriors recently hosted the Battle of the Paikokun Mountain Championship at the Wakanda Games Arena, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.
The event featured eight international martial arts matches, five of which were suspended. Undefeated Nigerian middleweight fighter Yahuza “Smilestrong” Yahaya submitted Congolese opponent Christopher Morey in the second round to win the Fighter of the Night title. Yahaya received a donation of one million naira as prize money from Spirit of Warrior Vice President and Engineer Christopher Nwokolo.
Nigerian MMA poster boy Jeb 'Captain Hook' Filemon impressed the crowd with his spectacular performance as he won his fight against Pelaja Osoba in the 75kg weight class. Women's champion Tellumun Douce dominated the bantamweight division, defeating Immaculata Nelson in her debut.
Octave Einde also scored a dominant victory over Vincent “Iron Fist” Ebenezer.
The well-attended evening show continued late into the night and began with David Ezekiel winning a split decision over Christopher Swande in the -65kg weight class. Stanford Ebele, also known as Praying Mantis, narrowly defeated Heroes Gym's Felix Ncheta in his debut match. In the 71kg division, Peter Onu won by technical knockout in the third round against Dilichukwu Ohabile, while Ephraim Onwanya defeated Ernest Ugwuanyi in an unforgettable match in the middleweight division, ending in a first round TKO.
The battle between Yahuza and Christopher Morey was one of the highlights of the night, with both sides vying for control of the ground. Morey was the more aggressive fighter, exposing his back to Yahuza in one exchange of ground, and Yahuza locked in a body triangle and applied a rear-naked choke, forcing Morey to tap out. Molly requested a rematch, which was granted by Dr. Ebele Bernard, CEO of Akaraka Spirit of Warriors and Youth Director of the Nigerian Mixed Martial Arts Federation, NMMAF.
In the co-main event, Tellumun Douce won the fight against Immaculata Nelson with a hail of ground strikes, and the referee intervened to protect Nelson from further damage. Duce's fans jumped into the cage to celebrate her victory, and she declared in the post-fight interview that she was ready for any challenge on her way to the biggest stage.
The main event featured Nigeria vs. Cameroon, with Cameroon's Octave the Bantu Warrior defeating Ebenezer “Iron Fist” Vincent by TKO in the first round.
The referee stopped the match because Vincent was unable to protect himself from Bantu Warrior's elbows and ground and pound. Dr. Benard stressed that the Mount Paikokun Fight MMA event is aimed at raising awareness of the difficult security situation in Nigeria and promoting peaceful coexistence between the different ethnic groups in the country.
The event was held in collaboration with the Nigerian Mixed Martial Arts Federation, NMMAF. The fight at Mount Paikokun was a follow-up to last year's MMA Night of Glamor and Glory, which Akaraka Spirit of Warrior used to captivate the martial arts crowd in Abuja.
