David Onama made history on Saturday night as he became the first fighter from Uganda to win in the UFC.
Onama became the first fighter from Uganda to make it to the UFC last October, but at UFC Vegas 48 he scored a first-round KO win over Gabriel Benitez. It was a great performance from Onama but early on, Benitez punched him in the eye that Onama admits messed up his vision for a bit.
“The first round I wanted to see what he was going to do, just study him and kind of get a read of his speed, his movement, and all that,” Onama said to BJPENN.com. “Then, he cracked me in the eye and it set everything off, I have never been hit that hard. I lost my vision. It was crazy, as soon as I get hit I was just like I had to pick it up on this kid. I knew I had to be the aggressor and get him out of there in the first.”
With Onama getting the win, he says it’s a dream come true as he has been working on achieving this goal for years. Along with getting the win, he got the $50K bonus but for Onama, he still wants to be as active as possible and hopefully return in May.
“It’s a dream come true for me to get my first UFC win and get the bonus with it. Life feels good. I’m very happy with my performance as well, back to my natural weight division and showed everyone how good I can be,” Onama said. “I did what I was supposed to do. Now, the plan is to return in April or May, most likely May. As of right now, it’s just whoever the UFC offers me, this is only my first win in the UFC so I don’t think I should be calling anyone out yet.”
Not only is David Onama proud of himself for getting the win, but he says it’s surreal to become the first fighter from Uganda to win in the promotion. He knows he has the entire country’s support which means a ton to him.
“Man, it means a lot to me to be the first fighter from Uganda to make it to the UFC and the first one to win,” Onama explained. “Just showing out for my people and being able to represent my country and walk out with the flag. I have the entire country behind me supporting me, you don’t know how much it means to me.”
Not only is Onama glad to represent his country on a massive stage, but he says he hopes he inspires others to follow in his footsteps. He says he has gotten countless messages from people in Uganda saying they look up to him which has been surreal for him.
“I hope a lot of people from back home see that they can get to the UFC as well. I want to lead the way for them and the love I have gotten from people from Uganda is surreal. They have messaged me like crazy since the win, showing me love and telling me I’m a role model to them and just keep doing what I do and representing my country and my people,” Onama concluded.
Who would you like to see David Onama fight next?