Hakeem ‘Mean’ Dawodu is stepping outside of his comfort zone as he prepares to make his UFC bow in London in March.
The 7-0-1 featherweight has opted to move to Dublin ahead of the biggest bout of his young career to join the ranks of SBG Ireland ahead of his March 17th UFC debut against Scottish fighter Danny Henry, where he will train under John Kavanagh.
Dawodu has compiled an unbeaten record since making his professional debut in 2014, with all of those wins coming under the World Series of Fighting banner. His last appearance, in March of last year, was a one-sided decision against 8-fight UFC veteran Steven Siler. This marked the first time that slick striker Dawodu has ever been brought the distance in his career.
Calgary MMA fighter Ireland-bound https://t.co/FNtqwOLEsD
— Mean Hakeem (@meanhakeemko) January 18, 2018
The Canadian signed a 4-fight deal with the UFC in November and has been training in the famed Jackson Wink academy but will uproot and move his base closer to London ahead of his debut, where he will join the featherweight ranks already in the Dublin gym including Artem Lobov and the soon-to-be-back James Gallagher.
“Heading to Ireland, it’s all very real,” Dawodu said to CTV News in Calgary. “I’m just going to make sure I soak up everything I can there, dealing with such high level athletes when I’m there.”
You can watch Dawodu’s final fight before signing his UFC contract in full below.
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