'I'm poor': Ghana-born UFC fighter says he'd 'cut off' his leg if it meant he could pursue a better life in the United States

Ghanaian UFC fighter Abdul Razak Alhassan defended fellow African fighters who have been criticized for moving off the continent to become successful. The fighter compared his desire to be successful to be willing to cut off a limb for the opportunity to go to America.

Alhassan was participating in a press conference prior to a UFC event when he was asked by a reporter how he felt about the debate of who the real "African champion" is.

The journalist was referring to current UFC middleweight champion South African fighter Dricus du Plessis. Du Plessis said in 2023 that he was the "real first African champ" because he was the first champion to be "trained, born, [and] bred in Africa."

This would of course dismiss other UFC champions who were born in Africa, including Kamaru Usman (Nigeria), Israel Adesanya (Nigeria), and Francis Ngannou (Cameroon). Du Plessis felt that because those fighters moved to different countries to live and to train, they weren't staying true to their African roots by staying on the continent.

'If he was a true African, he'd have understood that.'

Alhassan said that while he respects du Plessis and how he has promoted Africa, he is very upset about the way he has spoken about the other fighters.

"I respect the things he's done in MMA, but he’s a f***ing bitch," he said at the UFC Denver media day.

"He's a f***ing a**hole for that word that he used. If he's a f***ing real African and he lived in Africa, he would have never used that f***ing word. He’s a f***ing bitch a** to use that word, because if he was raised with the poor people in Africa, [he would know better]."

Alhassan detailed his struggles with poverty to reporters, saying that he has gone days without eating.

"I have to see my friends eating and I be like 'hey bro, can you give me one teaspoon of your food so I can put [it in] my mouth?' That's how I'll survive for a few days until I can get money," he explained.

The middleweight went on to express extreme gratitude toward countries like the United States and said that if he, like others, got the opportunity to work and train in a better country, he would jump at the chance.

"So if we get the opportunity to leave that s***hole — I'm not trying to call my country a s***hole, but I'm poor — If I can go to America or I can go to a different country to make a better life for myself, I'll f***ing cut off my leg to f***ing go. If he was a true African, he'd have understood that. That means that he was living the comfortable life. His family had money to feed him every day, so he didn't have to worry about leaving to go and make it."

Du Plessis has had several public feuds with fellow African and former champion Adesanya, continuing to claim that he and his training partner are the real Africans.

"We breathe African air. We wake up in Africa every day. We train in Africa, we're African-born, we're African-raised. We still reside in Africa, and we train out of Africa. That's an African champion, and that’s who I'll be."

Alhassan fights on the UFC Denver card on July 13, 2024.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!