OTTAWA, Ontario – After getting a second straight UFC win this past December, you’d think Saturday’s UFC on ESPN+ 9 card would have been a perfect fit for Canadian prospect Hakeem Dawodu.
And, in fact, Dawodu (9-1-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) wanted to be on it. But, as the 27-year-old prospect told reporters during the ESPN+-streamed event at Canadian Tire Centre, he had quite a valid reason for needing some time away.
“Right before I got signed, I tore my left shoulder, and I tore my right shoulder,” Dawodu said. “So my last four fights, I’ve actually been fighting with torn shoulders. After my last fight, in December, with Kyle Bochniak, me and my management, my coach and also myself decided it would be a good time to nurse my injuries. I got PRP (platelet-rich plasma therapy) on my left shoulder, I got PRP on my right shoulder. Three treatments, I’m 100 percent.”
Dawodu doesn’t blame the loss in his UFC debut – a quick submission at the hands of Danny Henry – on his injuries. “I man up to my losses; I take it like a man,” he said. But Dawodu does believe the limited use of his shoulders got in the way of his ability to knock people out.
“I’ve been in pain – I haven’t been able to bench press or do push-ups for two years,” Dawodu. “So, now that I’m 100 percent, I’m planning on getting back to my knockout ways and start putting everybody away like I used to.”
Dawodu had, in fact, quite a penchant for finishes earlier in his pro run, having knocked out all but one of the eight opponents he came across in his former WSOF home (Dawodu also had a majority draw with Marat Magomedov). His three most recent wins, though, came by way of decisions – including a split over Bochniak.
But now that he’s healthy again, Dawodu says, “all the featherweights should be worried.” And while he won’t make specific call-outs or handpick opponents, the Canadian prospect says he’s good to go and ready to start tackling the upper echelon of the division.
“I’m in shape right now, my weight is where it needs to be,” Dawodu said. “We’re looking to fight anybody in that top 15, and I promise in my next fight I’m going to make sure I get that knockout and get back to the original ‘Mean’ Hakeem.”
Dawodu believes Georges St-Pierre’s retirement left a bit of a gap when it comes to Canadian representation in the octagon, but he sees a few guys coming up and would like to volunteer himself to be one of the faces of the country and “make Canadian MMA great again.”
Getting a chance to extend his streak at home would be a good way of going forward with this mission.
“I hear a rumor about UFC coming to Canada in July, kind of close near my hometown,” Dawodu said. “So we’re looking to get that in.”
To hear more from Dawodu, check out the video above.
And for more on the upcoming UFC schedule, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.
