Caged In

WEC lightweight Njokuani says no more wild man

Dec 14, 2009 | by MattE | No Comments

Lightweight Anthony Njokuani hits Muhsin Corbbrey with a head kick at WEC 43 in San Antonio in October. Njokuani won his second straight Knockout of the Night bonus. On Saturday, he takes on former IFL champion Chris Horodecki looking for his third straight victory. (Photo courtesy of WEC)

Matt Erickson
cagedin.mma@gmail.com

LAS VEGAS | Anthony Njokuani is a long way from Africa. He’s a long way from his breakdancing days, too.

The Nigerian-born lightweight, who meets former IFL lightweight champion Chris Horodecki at WEC 45 on Saturday in Las Vegas, came to the United States when he was 3. But as he grew up in the Dallas suburb of Garland, looking different than other kids led to plenty of rough times.

“Growing up at the time (getting teased and picked on) wasn’t really easy,” Njokuani said last month in Las Vegas. “What (the other kids) put me through made me a better person.”

It just took a while. Njokuani admits he was teetering on the brink of going down a bad path with nearly no chance of turning back. But he got wise, despite having a less than ideal relationship with his parents.

“I was heading in a wrong direction — (hanging with) really bad crowds: people who were jumping and beating up people, stealing,” Njokuani said. “I”m really thankful that I didn’t involve mysefl in any of those activities. I’m glad that I changed my ways and became the person that I am.”

The person that he is tried football and basketball as an escape, but didn’t take well to teammates who he says had “ego problems.” He was doing a lot of inline skating, and one day, at 16, he says he picked up breakdancing. And it was breakdancing that managed to lead him to his eventual career as a fighter.

“I was going to a school called Knockout Fitness that had kickboxing, dancing, karate,” Njokuani said. “So I was doing martial arts for my breakdancing. (My instructor) saw potential, and I was trying to do both at the same time.”

Njokuani said his relationship with his parents as he marched toward young adulthood was at times strained. And it wasn’t until his father died just before Njokuani’s 23rd birthday that he realized he needed an attitude adjustment. He gained insight when he returned with his family to his father’s native Nigeria to bury him.

“(My father’s death) shook me up for a while,” Njokuani said. “It made me realize a lot of stuff, that I need to change a lot of things I was doing to my family. What really hurt the most was that I didn’t have a chance to get close with him. It really sucks that I don’t have that chance to build that bond with him. Now I take care of my mom.”

But he still carries with him some of the angry Anthony from his youth. That version comes to life when the cage door closes, which Bart Palszewski and Muhsin Corbbrey can attest to. They were both victims of Njokuani knockouts that gave him consecutive Knockout of the Night bonus awards at WEC 40 and 43.

“I still keep all of (the anger) to help me in the gym,” Njokuani said. “But when I step in the ring, I’m ‘The Assassin.’ I still keep all that to help me in the cage. I picture that in the back. I left Anthony back in the dressing room.”

Njokuani is 11-2 as a professional, and his only two losses came to WEC elite lightweights Ben Henderson, the current interim champ, and Donald Cerrone, who just fought Henderson for that interim belt. A win over Horodecki would be Njokuani’s third straight in the WEC and would put the lightweight division on notice.

He believes Horodecki, who brings strong kickboxing to the table and who is making his WEC debut after the collapse of Affliction’s promotion, which he was signed to previously, might try to keep the fight on the feet — which is alright with Njokuani.

“I’ve been watching Chris for along time, so I know exactly what he’s all about,” Njokuani said. “I think I can capitalize on that. I think I have this fight in the bag.”

But mostly, Njokuani said he is glad he’s tried to take life at a new pace, appreciating things a little more — like his family and the opportunity to fight.

“You’ll be seeing some new stuff coming out of me,” Njokuani said. “Horodecki, if he wants to stand and bang with me, we can go there. I’m still gonna focus on the main thing, which is just having fun. And not going out there and acting like a wild man, ’cause wild man can get you kiled.”

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WEC 45: Cerrone vs. Ratcliff
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Pearl at The Palms, Las Vegas
TV: Versus (cable)

Main Card
155: Donald Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff
155: Anthony Njokuani vs. Chris Horodecki
135: Joseph Benavidez vs. Rani Yahya
135: Takeya Mizugaki vs. Scott Jorgensen

Preliminary Card
155: Bart Palaszewski vs. Anthony Pettis
155: Muhsin Corbbrey vs. Zach Micklewright
135: John Hosman vs. Chad George
135: Brad Pickett vs. Kyle Dietz
145: Jameel Massouh vs. Erik Koch