Top 5 African fighters in UFC history

#4 Sodiq Yusuff (Nigeria)

Sodiq Yusuff is one of the UFC's best featherweight prospects.

One of the best featherweight prospects in the UFC right now, Sodiq Yusuff may not be unbeaten in the octagon at this moment. But he’s still almost certainly a fighter to keep a close eye on.

Like Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya, Yusuff was born in Nigeria, although he currently fights out of Camp Springs, Maryland.

Super Sodiq made his name in the regional circuit before earning a shot at the UFC with an impressive win in Dana White’s Contender Series. Since then, he has largely gone from strength to strength.

Yusuff has beaten four opponents in the UFC thus far, largely using his explosive speed and brutal punching power to great effect. That was particularly evident in his knockout wins over Gabriel Benitez and Suman Mokhtarian.

Sodiq Yusuff Knocks Out Gabriel Benitez in Round 1 #UFC241 pic.twitter.com/edLfrwxOEL

— He’s Hurt! (@CageSideCam) August 18, 2019

While in his last fight, he suffered his first UFC loss at the hands of fellow prospect Arnold Allen, there’s no disputing the fact that Yusuff has the raw athleticism and talent to make it all the way to the top.

If Super Sodiq can continue to develop his overall game, there’s every chance that he could become the UFC’s fourth African-born champion at some point in the very near future.

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#5 Dalcha Lungiambula (Republic of the Congo)

Dalcha Lungiambula has the raw talent to make it to the top of the UFC.

The first UFC fighter to hail from the Republic of the Congo, Dalcha Lungiambula, hasn’t made quite the same impact in the octagon as the others fighters on this list. However, he has certainly got the raw potential to make it all the way to the top, based on what we have seen of him thus far.

A veteran of Africa’s biggest MMA promotion – EFC – Lungiambula made his UFC debut in 2019 and looked highly impressive. He ragdolled the overmatched Dequan Townsend en route to a third-round TKO victory.

POWER SHOTS PUT HIM DOWN@Dalcha_Champion #UFCMinneapolis pic.twitter.com/7SkDg73nGu

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 29, 2019

While he was beaten by the dangerous Magomed Ankalaev in his second octagon appearance, he rebounded by dropping to 185 lbs and dominating veteran Markus Perez.

Lungiambula has all of the physical tools to make it to the top of the UFC – he’s huge, quick, powerful and hits like a ton of bricks.

With this raw talent, there is definitely a chance that if he keeps winning, we could see an all-African UFC title fight between him and Israel Adesanya at some point in the future.