Kennedy Nzechukwu using MMA for the good of others
“My mom has ALS, Lou Gehrig Disease, and my oldest brother has Autism. So, I’ve been working so hard. I’ve been the primary caregiver for both of them.”
With the UFC getting an influx of fighters from Africa – including newly minted champion Kamaru Usman and upcoming title challenger Israel Adesanya – there have been rumblings of a UFC event on the continent for the first time. It certainly wouldn’t be hard to fill out the card; Sodiq Yusuff, Dalcha Lungiambula, and Abdul Razak Alhassan would all likely want on the card too.
However, don’t count UFC Philadelphia’s Kennedy Nzechukwu in that list. While it interests him somewhat, it is not his primary focus.
It would be good, but I just want to fight, he said. I have one major goal in life. To win that belt and to use that platform of winning to help [others].
His desire to help others comes from his lifetime of supporting his family, who has dealt with lots of hurdles.
My mom has ALS, Lou Gehrig Disease, and my oldest brother has Autism, Nzechukwu explained. So, I’ve been working so hard. I’ve been the primary caregiver for both of them.
As a result, the focus of his career has been to give them the best life possible. It doesn’t stop there though, he wants to be able to help as many people as possible and use fighting as his means.
Fighting in Africa would be a great thing, but my major #1 goal is to use my platform while rising to the top of this organization to help kids with Autism, and helping contribute to charity events that try to find a cure for Lou Gehrig Disease, he said. These are the two things on my priorities list.
(58:00 mark)
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Author Daniel Vreeland is a co-founder of the Top Turtle Podcast, and a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu at New England Submission Fighting in Amherst, Massachusetts.
