Sodiq Yusuff fighting for the highest cause

Sodiq Yusuff’s mother Basirat moved to the USA from Nigeria and over time saved enough to bring Sodiq and his brother Yusuff over as well. However, his brothers Tope and Ayotunde, and his sister Omotayo remained in Africa.

Fighting professionally is a self-absorbed pursuit, and the money is usually very short. Sodiq was fighting for $2,000 or less and sending the entire purse home to his siblings in Nigeria. The small amounts were life-changing.

Then Tope contracted typhoid fever, was treated with counterfeit drugs, slipped into a coma, and passed away. He found out a week before he was to leave for a fight in Australia in his UFC debut.

It happened so fast, and over there in the culture as soon as you pass they bury you right away, he explained to Chuck Mindenhall for MMA Fighting. There’s a lot of missing stuff too that’s lost in translation. That’s why I stress so hard trying to get the rest of [my brothers and sisters] back over here. That’s also why I’m going to try and bring some extra light to that after the fight, if I get to do a press conference or something. I can try and reach out to somebody who could help me actually help my brother and sister get visas so they can get over here.

There’s a lot of sports we’re naturally gifted at, but fighting is something anybody can do. There are some things you can’t do back home because you don’t have the resources. You don’t have a great basketball court or stuff like that. But fighting is fighting, and all you need in the knowledge. A lot of my people are seeing this stuff, and they’re watching people like Kamaru become champions on TV. Right now there’s a kid seeing that who’s inspired to do something else, because not all of them can afford medical school or whatever. So it’s cool to be a beacon for my people.