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Another Nigerian fighter has been unleashed on the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), as previously unknown Manny Akpan shot into the spotlight with a dramatic ‘spinning hoop kick’ that earned him a knock out victory.
MMA zealots and fans of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) are now reeling lyrical about the Nigerian-born featherweight, who took on Connor Hutchens at Cage Warriors 136 at BEC Arena in Manchester, England and got a second round victory in spectacular fashion.
The historic moment came with only 27 seconds remaining in round two, as Akpan conjured a magical move out of nowhere, twisted his body and in one swift motion, conjured up the most outrageous wheel kick.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, in executing the killer move on the spin, Akpan caught Hutchens flush on the jaw, a devastating blow that caused the opposing fighter to fall face down into the canvas.
He turned around and threw some punches but the damage had already been done, as the referee stepped in to stop the fight, following which Akpan celebrated wildly, sprinting across the cage and scaling it to share the special moment with his team.
It was streamed live on UFC’s Fight Pass network and pundits described it as genuinely like something you would see on Street Fighter and evoked Joaquin Buckley’s incredible finish to beat Impa Kasanganay on UFC Fight Island 5 in October 2020.
It was also a dramatic turnaround of fortune for Akpan had lost via submission in his previous bout at Cage Warriors 123 but returned to winning ways with the fourth victory of his professional career.
With his victory at Cage Warriors 136, which was headlined by a middleweight title fight, Akpan, fondly called ‘Black Death,’ improves his professional MMA record to 4-1, while Hitchens falls to 6-2.
Now dubbed ‘Knockout Blow of the Year 2022,’ Akpan is relishing what is actually only his second win under Cage Warriors’ banner and his third across all promotions.
Though the knockout win with the wheel kick appeared to be a haymaker that happened to land perfectly, confessed that he did not specially plan on connecting with his opponent’s head.
He also revealed that Hitchens was not his original opponent, but only a late replacement, yet the Nigerian-born Manchester native reiterated that he did not take his foe lightly and focused on avoiding danger all through the fight.
Akpan stated afterwards: “I just know it. I’ve got a good killer instinct. I’d see that, I could find his head, caught him a couple of times.
“[So] I knew I could find his head. So I just thought when I get some space, I’m taking his head off and I did that.
“I don’t take no easy fights. No joke. I’m coming here, I’m coming to take your head off.
“They call me the ‘Black Death’ for a reason, you just seen my (performance). Anytime, I’m dangerous. All the way through the fight, I’m dangerous.”
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