Boxing coach and Hall of Fame commentator Teddy Atlas once said the real test of a fighter is if they can overcome adversity. While Atlas meant this in the sense of coming back from a bad loss, adversity comes not just in the ring or cage but also outside it.

Francis Ngannou is perhaps the greatest current example of this. ‘The Predator’ went from working in the sand mines of Cameroon as a teen to walking across Africa and crossing a sea to becoming a UFC champion and one of the biggest boxers in the world. This story finds parallels in the story of his fellow PFL roster mate and light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay, who went from a humiliating, viral knockout in the UFC to not being able to afford a roof over his head to becoming a millionaire and the PFL champion.

Impa Kasanganay lived in a car to pursue MMA dream

Impa Kasanganay was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to immigrant parents from the Republic of Congo who moved to the United States to flee the civil war in their home country. The PFL light heavyweight champion soon moved to a poor neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, with his family where he started playing football during his senior year of high school.

His football background earned him a scholarship to Lenoir-Rhyne University in 2016, and this was where the 30-year-old started training in MMA. Along with his martial arts training, the 30-year-old earned three degrees and started working as an accountant.

However, he decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts and turned pro in 2019 after two years in the amateur circuits. He joined the UFC roster in 2020 but was cut the next year after four fights, two of which he lost. This began a very turbulent period of his life where he resorted to living in his car due to being broke.

Not one to be discouraged by adversity, Kasanganay used this to fuel him and went on to win the PFL light heavyweight title within a year. And as he sets up to face Johnny Eblen in a legacy-defining fight, he will join us on an ES Exclusive FanCast shortly where he will talk about his upcoming opponent, whom he respects a lot.

Kasanganay has “nothing but respect” for Eblen

Johnny Eblen is considered one of the greatest middleweights in MMA history. The Bellator champion will defend his title against PFL light heavyweight champion Impa Kasanganay in the first PFL vs. Bellator card on February 24 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a middleweight bout. And ahead of their bout, Kasanganay has been clear about what the fight means to him: a shot at stamping his name in the annals of the sport.

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“So for me, this is the fight when you start writing down what it means to be a fighter, what it means to be a warrior. Johnny is one of those fighters that fits the bill of the kind of person that I’d want to fight. I need this in order to become who I’m meant to be and believe to be, so nothing but respect, I’m looking forward to showing what I’m going to do,” he said.

If you wanna know more about Kasanganay’s journey then tune in to the upcoming EssentiallySports exclusive Fancast interview with the PFL star.

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