Everything you missed at Kamaru Usman's African Knockout Show

Kamaru Usman and his team can pat themselves on the back for a successful rendition of the second edition of the African Knockout show titled Face Off Fight Night 2. 

The sophomore edition of the event took place on Friday, March 18, at the Eko convention centre, and it did not disappoint as fans enjoyed a night full of action and entertainment.

Usman and co-organizers of the event can rest assured that the new combat sports franchise will continue to grow in popularity if the organizers keep the standard of the event up.

Here are three (3) talking points you missed at Friday's event:

1. Quality set-up

We can comfortably say that the AKO show has set a high standard for any other franchise that might come up after it.

In this part of the world, it is very common to see people make huge promises they cannot fulfil. However, in the case of the African Knockout Show, it has to be said that the attention to detail was of a very high standard.

From the lighting to the runway for the fighter's walk-out, it has to be said, that a lot of thought was given to the planning and execution of the event.

This should come as no surprise as the UFC's Welterweight champion would probably not have it any other way. 

Speaking before the event, Usman said, "We are doing a major, A-class event here and that’s how you start things, It will get better as it progresses.”

2. An unforgettable atmosphere

If you had the pleasure to attend or view the event online, you would be excused to believe that Mixed Martial arts are popular in Nigeria.

As Nigerians are entangled in a myriad of issues ranging from Fuel scarcity to ridiculous inflation, it was nice to see people come out and enjoy a genuinely good time.

The excitement in the air was obvious, from the first minute of the first round, till the very end of the event as the fans became more involved as the night wore on.

From cheers and chants to the wannabe fighting coaches yelling out random statements like, 'Give am Shaolin', the fans provided one heck of an ambience.

In the last few years, west Africa has become arguably the biggest factory for UFC champions. Three of the UFC's championship belts are in the hands of intimidating fighters from this part of the world.

So it is no surprise that the quality of fighting on display was pretty good. In the final two fights on the card, Nigerian fighters went up against their counterparts from Togo and Benin respectively.

In the co-main event, Segun "Machine gun Shegs" Ogunnoike, gave Togolese fighter Ayibo Mawuko a beating he won't forget in a hurry. To be honest, the home crowd were wary of Mawuko, who walked out to Kanye West's I am a God, a rather intimidating song.

Ogunnoike's dominance in the first round soon dispelled any notion that the bout would be close. 

Mawuko did well to last to the second round but eventually lost via technical knockout halfway through the second round.

The final fight on the card saw Daniel Emeka take on Benenoise fighter Cherif Drame in the main event.

After some mild opening exchanges, Emeka came out with a couple of huge uppercuts, which seemed to get the fans going. Drameshowed that he is no pushover responded with an impressive elbow which also drew a reaction from the crowd.

Those in Drame's camp would, at last, be proud of how resilient their fighter is, never once looking too flustered, despite receiving a barrage of blows.

At the end of the fight, Emeka emerged as the deserved champion a contest that lived up to its billing.

All in all, Kamaru Usman and his team deserve the credit for hosting a great event and would hope to build on their successes.