Oumar Kane is a fascinating addition to the ONE Championship heavyweight division. The 28-year-old became a viral sensation in the mixed martial arts community following his incredible professional debut at ARES 1 in late 2019.
In the first round, Kane found himself locked in a kimura but responded with an incredible show of strength. The debutant straightened his arm, lifted his opponent up and power bombed him down onto the canvas before going on to get the TKO in the second.
The 6’4″ fighter is a behemoth of a man and has a background in traditional Senegalese wrestling, known as laamb. He will make his promotional debut for ONE: ‘Unbreakable’ Part II which is broadcast this Friday, taking on Hong Kong based Cameroonian striker, Alain Ngalani.
He says the opportunity came about after his win at ARES 1,
“Just after my fight with Sofiane Boukichou in Dakar in December, we formed a relationship with someone in the UK, a manager, and we discussed for a long time, throughout the Covid period. And finally, I got a contract with ONE Championship,” said the west African star.
Limited experience
Despite his limited experience in MMA, Kane has plenty of confidence in his ability and is looking to announce himself to the fans in style when he makes his debut in the Lion City,
“They are welcoming me right now and I thank them all. And I will let all the people know that there is a new champion. I will show the world that I am a very big champion,” he said.
Currently there is no top five ranking available for the heavyweight division, but the Singapore-based promotion have been adding some considerable talents.
In the last year, ONE Championship has signed former Amir Aliakbari, Marcus Almeida, Dustin Joynson, Islam Abasov and Anatoly Malykhin. ‘Reug Reug’ is happy to face any one of them on his path towards the title,
“This is my mission,” he said, “I am somebody who is practicing combat sport, so there is no way for me to say that I want to fight with ‘this one or that one.’ Anyone is good. From top to bottom, anyone you give me, I’m ready to fight.
Good for anything
‘Reug Reug’ will be ONE’s first-ever representative hailing from Senegal and he is delighted to fly the flag for both his home country, and the continent as a whole.
“I’m really happy to represent Senegal and to represent Africa in MMA. It’s been a long time that I’ve been representing Senegal in competitions in Africa. In MMA I’m representing the whole of Africa, and I’d like to get the world title one day. If I get that it, it will be for the whole of Africa,” he said.
Ngalani is a world champion in both kickboxing and Muay Thai, so the match-up represents an interesting contrast in styles.
“I’m good in wrestling but I’m also training BJJ with my coach so I’m good for anything,” said ‘Reug Reug and added, “I know that Alain Ngalani is a very big champion, but all of those things related to what I can and cannot do will be shown in the ring and all of these things will come, and I will do what I have to do.”
