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African Knockout

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Devonian Wombat (talk | contribs) at 22:44, 8 December 2023 (Fixed formatting). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: I think this is will pass WP:GNG but the version of this draft is just utterly promotional and can't be accepted like this. Vanderwaalforces (talk) 10:15, 29 November 2023 (UTC)


African Knockout
IndustryMixed martial arts
FoundedOctober 2020
HeadquartersLagos, Nigeria
Key people
Kamaru Usman

Rayan Fayad

Natalia Belousova
Websitehttps://ako.show

The African Knockout (AKO) is a pan-African professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotion, serving the Nigerian and African audience. AKO was founded in October 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria and, in 2021, the first African-born UFC World Champion, Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman joined the company.[1]

The promotion started off in 2020 as an MMA talent reality TV Show called "African Knockout", becoming the first non-scripted sports reality show on Netflix in the process. The promotion continued with a series of fight events titled "FaceOff" Fight Nights in 2022, before ultimately launching the “AKO Championship” in 2023,[2] with 5 weight divisions gathering athletes from 14 countries across Africa. AKO is governed by the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.

AKO Show

The African KnockOut (AKO) Show Season 1 was launched in November 2020 on DStv SuperSport and GoTv Channels, and was promoted as the first-ever Nigerian MMA show and then became the first non-scripted reality show in Netflix history. The show featured 14 amateur fighters from all over Nigeria divided into two teams “White Wolves” and “Team Steal”. For 9 weeks, the fighters lived together in a closed training camp in Landmark, Lagos, and were documented going through martial arts training, team challenges, as well as sharing personal stories. The show was hosted by Okey Bakassi and had appearances from a number of celebrities such as comedian Basket Mouth, rapper MI Abaga and others in the camp.[3]

The show's theme song, eponymously titled African Knockout was produced by Chocolate City and performed by musician MI Abaga.[4] The Season 1 Grand Finale took place in December 2020 at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, where Ndidi "The Rage" Alonu became the ultimate winner of the Show, with Daniel "The Big Shark" Emeka and Segun "The Machine Gun Shegz" Ogunnoiki serving as first and second runner-up respectively.[5]

Events

Event Title Date Venue Location
AKO Championship 2 August 19, 2023 Goodbeach Lagos, Nigeria
AKO Championship 1 May 12, 2023 Sol by Boxmall Lagos, Nigeria
Face-Off Fight Night 3 December 29, 2022 Landmark Event Centre Lagos, Nigeria
Face-Off Fight Night 2 March 18, 2022 EKO Event Centre Lagos, Nigeria
Face-Off Fight Night 1 January 7, 2022 Lagos Continental Hotel Lagos, Nigeria

Broadcasters

DStv SuperSport, GoTV, and Netflix (AKO Show).[6]

References

  1. ^ Sarmah, Manjit (2021-11-25). "Kamaru Usman reveals he helped create a reality show similar to The Ultimate Fighter in Africa to develop MMA talent". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  2. ^ Akinbo, Peter (2023-05-12). "Usman-inspired African Knockout Championship launches in Nigeria". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  3. ^ Olaleye, Oluwadamilola (2020-10-07). "AKO Show Unveils Sports247 as Media Partner | Sports247 Nigeria". Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  4. ^ Mix, Pulse (2020-10-31). "MI Abaga drops soundtrack for African Knockout Show, 'African Knockout'". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  5. ^ "Ndidi "RAGE" Alonu is the winner of Season One of the African Knockout Show (AKO)".
  6. ^ "African Knockout – The AKO TV Reality show launches in Nigeria".
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