Last November, Fort Lauderdale's Impa Kasanganay won the Professional Fighters League's 2023 light heavyweight championship. The win earned him $1 million and a piece of history. But soon, in Kasanganay's mind, his title win in Washington, D.C., became just that: history, one to draw lessons from rather than dwell on.
After all, he had to prepare for his Harvard Business School classes.
The 30-year-old Kasanganay lives something of a double life: a fighter with dreams of knockouts and championships, and a student with ambitions of succeeding in business. He says he likes to “keep both passions burning,” but this week he's ready to return to the arena in the action, taking on Jacob Nedow in the co-main event of PFL's Global Season card on Friday in Salt Lake City. The main card bout will air on ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET.
“I wake up in the morning, I train, then I do my school work,” says Kasanganay, who was born in Florida to Congolese parents. “It depends. Main thingsbut I keep the fire on. This job might be really hot, and this could be done on low heat, but everybody's cooking.”
Kassanganay says he's always thinking about the future. Not the immediate future, but “10, 12 years from now.” With a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina, money management has always been a passion and a career plan after his retirement from fighting. And the $1 million he won for winning the title last year? That was enough to buy a gym near Coral Gables. He also has a real estate license and took a temp job in accounts receivable last year between fights.
So the Harvard classes are part of a financial accounting certificate program that will ultimately lead to an MBA and then a PhD. He started the course a little over a year ago, and typically takes just one class during fight camp and multiple classes during his off time.
Kasanganay's varied endeavors may seem exhausting, but martial arts is a break from schoolwork, schoolwork is a break from teaching, and so on. Each task is a blessing, not a burden.
“That's what keeps me going and keeps me organized,” he said. “I know there are people who want something but can't make it happen for themselves, so I try to be patient. When you're working hard on one thing, sometimes you need to walk away and do something else to stay focused. I do that instead of resting. It's like everything is a blessing for the other things,” Kasanganay said. “As long as you keep knocking people out, more opportunities will come your way, but you can't keep fighting forever.”
With a pro record of 16-4 and seven wins in his last eight fights, the Killcliff FC product Kasanganay shows no signs of slowing down as a competitor. His opponent on Friday, Neddo, is a Slovenian fighter who won the PFL European Championship last year. Kasanganay said he knows his opponent is dangerous but is focused on himself.
“I respect all my opponents, but I don't care about their technique as long as I focus on my fundamentals and become the best version of myself. I'm here to kill them, that's it,” Kasanganay said. “I'm here to impose my will. I am my own weapon and I know myself well.”
Casanganay signs off many of his social media posts with “Burn the Ships,” a historical quote from 1500s explorer Hernan Cortes that reflects Casanganay's ultimate philosophy: “Everything leads to the goal.”
“I first heard about it in history class,” Kasanganay says. “Other generals have done it, and African tribes have always said: 'Burn the ships.' For the captain, it's a way of telling his men there's no turning back. Everything you've done is great, but you can't live off it, and you don't want to hold on to it.”
“As a champion, I know I need to work harder, but I won't praise myself enough. Everything I've done so far is a catalyst for the future. Sometimes I get complacent and lose focus, but I always have to remember who I am.”
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