Nigeria’s sole representative at the forthcoming Mixed Martial Arts Africa (MMAA) Championship in Luanda, Angola, Winifred Peter has vowed to unleash ‘fire’ on her opponents and return home with the competition’s top diadem.
Although Sports247 gathered that the pound for pound female fighter has won only one of her three officially recorded bouts since taking up the sport, Winifred is blowing hot ahead of her flight to the Angolan capital and vowed to never give up until she justifies her historic selection for the high-profile competition.
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She further admitted that being chosen to carry Nigeria’s flag at the competition sanctioned by International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) is a privilege for her, hence her strong and deep rooted pledge to make the best of it.
Winifred disclosed, “I feel very blessed; and I’m very, very happy. I feel that I’m quite opportune, because I know there are lots of fighters out there … but they chose me. So, I’m not willing to let that honour slide away.”
She went on to note that a good performance by her in Angola would open the door for other Nigerian MMA fighters to also get selected for future international events, which she declared makes her more determined than ever to excel at the upcoming outing.
Winifred stated further, “In Nigeria, there are many girls that want to fight, boys want to fight, but they don’t have the opportunity. So, I believe this is a very big opportunity for other athletes in Nigeria to come and perform, to show their talent.”
Sports247 checks revealed that Winifred, who is ranked 122 in the Middle East/Africa zone, lost via split decision to Merit Nnaji on April 29, 2023, and then by unanimous verdict to Dalla Abdeff on March 12, 2024; but she later defeated Leticia Amanua with a guillotine hold in the same month.
However, in spite of her minor statistics, Winifred is not relenting in her desire to make Nigeria proud, as the dark-skinned lass concluded with an affirmative pledge to carry the country’s flag very high in Luanda.
“There’s this slang in which we say ‘Naija no dey carry last.’ It means we don’t take last position when we represent Nigeria. So, I don’t care what I’ll face. I will sacrifice my blood, my sweat and everything to make sure that I’ll be the number one. So, they should just expect fire! Naija spirit is behind me. They should expect everything hot from me,” Winifred warned.
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