Everything happens for a reason. That expression has helped so many who were going through hard times in their life for whatever reason. LFA 173’s Oseyiomon Oiyemhonlan is a walking proof of concept on the topic.
After transitioning from football while in school, he moved to a nearby MMA gym where he made use of his prior wrestling and kickboxing background. However, after a few years there, things took an unexpected turn.
“It’s a funny story. Honestly, I don’t tell a lot of people about it,” Oiyemhonlan explained. “My coach at the time – this was during the pandemic – after years of sitting down with it, I realize he did it for my benefit – he kicked me off the team.”
In the throws of the pandemic, his coach sat him down and said that it just wasn’t working out. He gave little in the way of reason, but Oiyemhonlan wasn’t progressing like he or his coach wanted. He was heartbroken at first.
“It was around September 2020, he was like ‘yeah, maybe you should go somewhere else. I don’t think this is a fit for you,” he said. “I’d really took it to heart, really heavy. I thought we were going to build to the UFC together.”
But after stewing on the remarks for a bit of time, his faith helped him see that this was the push he needed to reach his true potential. He jumped at his chance.
“I’m a strong believer in God. I feel like sometimes when God sees you being stagnant, he’s going to do things that are going to push you,” Oiyemhonlan said. “Sometimes we need that push that’s going to propel you to the next level.”
And that’s when he found his current situation. It’s been one that has not only helped his mentallity around the game, but he also saw some gifts that he has that were being neglected.
“I switched over to Omnimovement in California about three years ago and started training with Steven Chao,” he said. “He instilled in me that you’re long and lengthy and you got to use that range.”
Now using that range, he has two violent KOs in his last three fights. Those big wins have landed him in a prime spot to make a big step forward at LFA 173. He’ll face undefeated Trent Miller on the main card on UFC Fight Pass. Those fights start at 10pm EST this Friday.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 29:39.
