Tafon Nchukwi (born 14 October 1994) is a Cameroonian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the Middleweight division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

Background

Born in

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is ...

, Cameroon, Nchukwi's family moved to the United States in 2005. He played soccer in his youth, changing to football, baseball and wrestling during his high school years. He attended college, but dropped out after discovering mixed martial arts. Nchukwi is a WKA ×2 2016 National champion, WKA ×2 2017 national champion, WKA ×2 2016 World champion. He is also a Jiu-jitsu blue belt and a 2017

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu ...

PAN Silver medalist. Nchukwi flies the flag of the separatist banner of the

Republic of Ambazonia Ambazonia, officially the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, also referred to as Amba Land, is an List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised Secession, breakaway state in West Africa which claims the Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Making his MMA debut at CFFC 73, Nchukwi faced Alex Meyers and went on to defeat him via TKO in the second round. In his sophomore performance, Tafon defeated A.T. McCowin via TKO in round one at Shogun Fights 23. Returning to

Cage Fury Fighting Championships Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) is an American mixed martial arts ( MMA) promotion primarily operating in the Northeastern United States. Founded by Felix and Amy Martinez, they promoted their first shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey, l ...

at CFFC 80, he defeated William Knight via TKO in the first round. The win was controversial as the ref thought Knight was knocked out when covering up, for which the ref apologized afterwards. In the main event of Dana White's Contender Series 32, Nchukwi knocked out Al Matavao in the second round. The victory earned Nchukwi a contract from the UFC in the process.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his promotional debut, Nchukwi faced

Jamie Pickett Jamie Russell Pickett (born August 29, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Pickett lived with his grandparents growing up in Chinquapin, North Car ...

at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal on December 19, 2020. After knocking down Pickett in the third round, Nchukwi won the fight via unanimous decision. In his sophomore appearance, Nchukwi faced

Jun Yong Park Park Jun-yong (born 27 February 1991) is a South Korean mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Starting his career in 2013, Park compiled a ...

on May 8, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson. He lost the fight via majority decision after being deducted a point due to repeated groin strikes. Nchukwi faced Mike Rodríguez at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann on September 18, 2021. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Nchukwi faced Azamat Murzakanov on March 12, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 203 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 203'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 61'' or ''UFC Vegas 50'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 12, 2022 at the U ...

Despite winning most of the bout, Nchukwi lost the bout after getting knocked out by a flying knee in round three. Nchukwi faced Carlos Ulberg on June 25, 2022, at

UFC on ESPN 38 ''UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 38'' and ''UFC Vegas 57'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 25, 2022, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterpris ...

He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Nchukwi was scheduled to face Jamal Pogues on December 17, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 216 ''UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Strickland'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 216, UFC on ESPN+ 74'' and ''UFC Vegas 66'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 17, 2022, at the ...

. However, Pogues pull out from the bout due to undisclosed reason and was replaced by Vitor Petrino. Nchukwi eventually pulled out of the bout himself due to undisclosed reasons and the bout was scrapped.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 , Carlos Ulberg , TKO (punches) , UFC on ESPN: Tsarukyan vs. Gamrot , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Azamat Murzakanov , KO (flying knee) , UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:44 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Mike Rodríguez , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

, Decision (majority) , UFC on ESPN: Rodriguez vs. Waterson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Al Matavao , KO (head kick) , Dana White's Contender Series 32 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:01 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , William Knight , TKO (punches) , CFFC 80 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the 7th most populous city in Virginia and 204th most populous city in the nation. Hampton ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , A.T. McCowin , TKO (strikes) , Shogun Fights 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:27 ,

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Alex Meyers , TKO , CFFC 73 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nchukwi, Tafon 1994 births Living people Cameroonian male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Cameroonian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters People from Bamenda