For an athlete to challenge for a CFFC title in just their third professional contest seems a rather daunting task, but flyweight Phumi Nkuta welcomes that exact assignment with open arms.
“At the end of the day, I’ve been preparing for this my whole life,” Nkuta said. “I don’t care what my pro record says. I could be 2-0. I could be 1-0. I still know I can hang in there with some of the best in the world.”
The 25-year-old Nkuta made his pro debut in October 2019, picking up a decision win under the Bellator banner. More recently, “Turbo” made his CFFC debut, scoring a second-round submission win at this past October’s CFFC 87. But Nkuta’s preparation began well before those appearances.
“I was 12 years old, and I was flipping through channels, just bored,” Nkuta said. “I grew up being a WWE fan, so I knew who Ken Shamrock was as a WWE wrestler. But as I was flipping through the channels, I saw him fighting Tito Ortiz, and I was like, ‘What the hell? This guy is also fighting in a cage for real, too?’ It was madness to me. I was hooked ever since then.
“I saw those two guys going at it, and one guy would do a technique, and another guy would do a technique to stop it, and ever since then, I’ve been in love with the sport.”
Still just 12 years old, Nkuta immediately started training in kickboxing. Brazilian jiu-jitsu followed shortly after. In high school, he joined the wrestling team – which like it has for many athletes before him, proved transformative.
“I think that’s where I really learned how to work hard, where I get my grind from and everything like that,” Nkuta said.
As he finished high school and left for college, Nkuta was intent on chasing his dream of becoming a professional fighter. Originally, he planned on attending Concordia University in Montreal, which would allow him to train with Canada’s famed Tristar Gym. However, the school was slow to reply to his application, which led Nkuta down another path.
“I had to pick a school in the U.S., and I chose Hofstra University since it was by a bunch of MMA gyms, and lo and behold I was literally probably a mile down the street from Ray Longo’s,” Nkuta said. “It’s crazy how it ended up working out.”
There, Nkuta trains alongside the likes of top UFC contenders Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili, but he insists the entire team is operating at a high-level right now, and that’s why he’s ready for the task at hand.
“Honestly speaking, man, it’s just putting the hard work into action, and at the end of the day, we’ve got a hard-working team, so I think as far as being 2-0, I’ve put on good performances,” Nkuta said. “I’ve showed a lot of the hard work that me and my team put in in the gym, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
Nkuta (2-0) competes in the main event of CFFC 92, which takes place Thursday, March 11 and streams live on UFC Fight Pass from Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena. He takes on reigning flyweight champion Alberto Trujillo (5-1), who claimed his belt at CFFC 87, the same night Nkuta made his promotional debut.
“We went back to the hotel, obviously celebrated a little bit, and then we watched his fight,” Nkuta recalled. “We were actually mainly interested in the guy who was champ at the time. He was in our locker room. But I think Alberto is tough. I think he’s tough, durable. He’s not going to go in there and quit, and he’ll bring a fight, which is what I’m there for.”
CFFC titles often come along with an invitation to either the UFC or one of the sport’s other major promotions. Whether or not that would be the case with Nkuta remains to be seen. After all, he is still very early in his professional run. But a win at CFFC 92 would certainly be a big step in that direction, and Nkuta realizes how his career can take off from this point.
“You ask Ray Longo, ask those guys in the gym, they’ll verify my hard work for me,” Nkuta said. “I’m not just a guy out there talking trash about how I’m going to do that, do this. I’m living it. I’m walking the walk as well as talking the talk. We’re winning in style with this one.
“This is the big show now. This is main event status. The title is on the line. A potential contract is on the line, so at the end of the day, it’s time to get some style points out there and make the magic happen. Tune in, March 11 for the CFFC title. It’s going to be one hell of a performance. You’re going to see a star in the making and a future greatest of all-time.”
This story was first published at CFFC.tv.
