Giovanni Olakunori is ready to leave it all out there this Saturday to get his hands on the Almighty Fighting Championship amateur heavyweight championship.
Almighty FC 30 is set to take place this weekend in the Barnsley Metrodome. As always, fans can expect an evening of action-packed amateur and professional action from some of the country’s best talents.
Olakunori will face current heavyweight kingpin, Ture Absoro, with both men respecting the threats one another posses. Ahead of his battle, we had the opportunity to catch up with Giovanni Olakunori, who discussed his life in Africa, his amateur MMA debut, and life at Higher Level MMA.
Interview With Giovanni Olakunori
May 27th, at Almighty Fighting Championship 30, you’ll step inside a cage for the second time in a competing setting. Despite the debut at the Four Nations being a no-contest within seconds of the first round, are you looking at this as your first official fight once again?
I used to think of this as my first fight since my debut fight ended in a no-contest decision after only just 14 seconds of the first round, but not anymore. My first romp may have lasted a few quick seconds, but it mattered in that it gave me the pleasure of learning a few things about this game and even life. I’m actually lucky to have learned them that early rather than later down the line when the consequences of not knowing them may be severe.
For the readers who look at the Almighty FC card and may not be aware of you just yet, give them a brief background on yourself and your journey into mixed martial arts.
My journey with the sport of Mixed Martial Arts dates back to late 2019 or early 2020, I believe, thanks to the likes of Colby Covington and my fellow countrymen Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya. However, I’ve always been a big fan of Martial Arts for self-defence since I was a kid. I remember borrowing a self-defence book from my friend around age 11 to learn a few moves on it. Before my MMA journey, I was working towards a future in either finance, engineering or, ideally, running my own businesses full-time.
I was born in Nigeria, a country I refer to as a ‘land of everything’ for its diverse landscapes, cultures, challenges, and so forth. My parents are from two of the three largest ethnic groups in the country: Yoruba and Igbo. I spent my early years in the country before my mum moved my siblings and me to Ghana after the passing of our dad. I also ended up living in a few other countries across Africa and Europe. I speak three languages, and I’m currently learning two languages. So I guess I’m not wrong to refer to myself as a global citizen.
Giovanni Olakunori On Moving to the UK
I first moved to the UK about eight years ago to study Mechanical Engineering and Management, although I ended up with a Mathematics and Economics degree. This was because I faced issues with my funding, and I was forced to withdraw from my Mechanical Engineering studies. Over the next several years, I worked hard to support myself through school while also helping my family back in Africa.
My sports background has been varied – including American football, basketball, natural bodybuilding, athletics and more. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic presented me with a unique opportunity to take a chance on a new endeavour. I wanted to stop asking myself what could have been if I had that full scholarship to move to the United States years ago after high school as opposed to a partial scholarship. I launched an e-commerce business while also pondering competing in MMA. I was encouraged to focus on rugby and a few other sports, but due to the variables each sport presented, I decided MMA would be the best fit. Even though I was older than the typical starter, I thought I could make use of my athletic abilities, resilience born from my struggles and pain over the years, strength, cardio, size and perhaps some okay level of brain processing power to make a difference in quickening my progress.
There have been trade-offs. I have been consumed with training and learning as much as I can in this game over the past two years– I haven’t had as much time to devote to my business or my other passions, which includes creating content on larnedu.com, a website which I launched in my teens and built it to one of the largest and oldest free educational resources for students in Africa that have served over 2 million students since 2013 – but my MMA progress has been very rewarding so far. With some heavyweights turning pros in only three years of training from scratch, I figured that with the dedication and the right resources, I could potentially do the same and perhaps present a more-refined product. In essence, the only reason for me doing this at this level of intensity is to compete and to see how far I could go in one of the most difficult sports in the world. My head coach, James Doolan, calls me ‘The Experiment’ because he’s experimenting with a heavyweight (smiles). For me, I refer to myself as ‘The Experiment’ because I know fully well this is an experimental journey and nothing is guaranteed. I think the stage name is fitting.
Im two years in and about to fight for an amateur heavyweight title at Almighty FC. It’s been quite a journey, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds! There’s a lot more to this story, but that’s about all I can say for now to keep this relatively short.
You share a mat with some of the best guys and coaches in the country at Higher Level MMA. Tell us why you decided to walk through those doors of the gym and pursue training. Can you sum up your time there so far?
I did a lot of research prior to choosing an MMA gym. I choose to settle for a gym in Scotland because of my strong ties to Scotland. I figured training under a coach that has been in the game for decades and has actually taken multiple fighters from a relatively small country in terms of population to some of the biggest promotions in the world was a great idea. I watched a lot of the fighters on the team, and I was impressed with their level of skill.
It’s not just a team where you can walk in and easily get a fight a couple of months later to represent the team or get promoted from white belt to blue belt for winning a couple of BJJ matches. The head coach cares about the quality of fighters that represent the team. Nothing is rushed in the team, and that’s overall good. No one gets that much of a special treatment, even the big fighters on the team. No one is bigger than the team.
To be honest, one of the main reasons I choose the team is because of the head coach. He reminds me of my late dad and my housemaster in high school. He means business when it’s time to train and has an aura about him that reflects on the team. Everyone on the team respects and looks up to him, but not in a cult-like way. It’s almost like high school again for me whenever I’m around him, and that’s what I need to push myself.
Praise for James Doolan
He’s always improving and adapting to the trends. James has always been there to answer my questions, and the level of knowledge he has is incredible. He’s also one of the hardest-working coaches I know, and I say this because I’ve had two years of observations. Many times he’s returned straight from a fight show abroad to the gym to take a class on the same day or to corner a teammate without catching rest. Perhaps that’s why he’s always with his red bull drink on hand (smiles). I’ve only seen him take a few days off twice in 2 years, and that was because of two big events in his life, one of which included the birth of his twins.
James wouldn’t force you to train, so you know anyone there wants to be there, and they don’t mess around when it’s time to train. He was supportive of me meeting up with some heavyweights such as Lochie Murray, a member of the Scottish Wrestling Development team and Mark Macqueen, a BJJ phenom and former IPF powerlifting world champion, to train on Fridays to get supplemental training since heavyweights are sparse. This has also helped me improve my grappling rapidly.
The assistant coaches have also been fantastic learning tools for me, especially Cammy Donnelly and Danny Gray.
The team has some of the finest strikers and grapplers in the country from Chris Shaw, a fantastic Muay Thai fighter who has fought in various organisations, including One Championship; Cammy Donnelly, an assistant grappling coach who also trains extensively with the B team; Stevie Ray, a UFC vet who’s a menace on the ground and recently Paul Craig, who’s known for his iconic submission wins in the UFC light heavyweight division.
I could also talk about other up-and-coming talents in the team, such as Mark Ewen, who just signed with Bellator and Sean Clancy, who just made his pro debut. I get to watch and learn from these guys. This is not to mention up-and-coming talents from across the UK that visit the gym regularly. Imagine if I could be half as good as these guys in the heavyweight division.
I’m pushed every time on the mats but not in a way where I take long-term damage or can’t train the next day, and I’ve achieved more than I expected in 2 years. The value I receive being part of the team is ultimately what has kept me going amidst all the noise.
Four Nations
Prior to making your official debut, you’ve competed in grappling competitions and have since the Four Nations. How much have you enjoyed your time on the mat in a grappling setting, and how satisfying is it to see results as opposed to when you first started?
To me, grappling is like playing chess in real life, and anyone that knows me well knows I’m obsessed with chess, although I can be quite terrible at it sometimes. Grappling seems to come a lot more naturally to me than striking, perhaps because of my anatomy or the number of hours I put into grappling every week. I was kinda thrown into the deep end from day one when I joined Higher Level MMA, so I had all these higher belts smashing me and teaching me every day on the mats, and I had to improve quickly because my competitive side wanted to come back better the next day. I remember getting guillotined by Sean Clancy’s dad after I shot a blast double and heel-hooked multiple times by a brown belt in my team during my first couple of weeks or so. That kept me up at night watching tutorials on defending these moves and taking notes.
I sometimes can’t believe the progress I’ve made with my striking and grappling, going from 0 to over 70 wins with one loss by a decision to a purple within my first 14 months of competing in Jujitsu. Surely, I couldn’t have muscled my way through that without some level of skill. Surely, my record isn’t padded since I’ve faced some superb grapplers that were more experienced than me. I never went into any competition thinking I would win, even when I had a considerable size and strength advantage over my dance partner. I’m always the underdog in my mind.
My results so far are a testament to the quality of training partners, coaches, teammates and hundreds of hours on PTs, drilling and study. I’m excited to keep getting better at an exponential rate!
Touching on the Four Nations, it was an unfortunate set of circumstances which resulted in a no-contest. Still, can you take anything away from that experience as a whole?
I was gutted that the fight had to end in a no contest as I felt my opponent could continue, hence my emotional reaction post-fight. My mind at that time was basically thinking, ‘All that work and for nothing?’. I felt a loss would’ve been better, but I was absolutely wrong. The experience was worth more than a win or loss to me as it taught me a few hard truths about the sport of MMA and the dynamics of life. I got to do my first walk. I learned never to be carried away by emotions in the cage, whether with a win, loss or no contest. I’ve learned to have more appreciation for anyone that agrees to dance in the cage, knowing how hard it’s been to find a matchup since then. I’ve also learned never to be discouraged by the ‘holier-than-thou’ actions of a few. I’ve realised complex dynamics exist within talented teams and the importance of navigating through them with a positive mindset.
My debut made me a dead man in my mind, so nothing more can move me. My desire to keep improving trumps my ego and every other noise that would’ve otherwise forced me to shift course.
I only have a short amount of time to do this at this level of intensity, and I’m here to collect some memories while I can, so I better keep focusing only on what matters. I’m not here trying to think of myself as any special. I’m not trying to do this to be perceived as ‘tough’. I’m not here trying to be accepted. I’m not here trying to deal with some emotional void or trauma. I’m just here to put my head down to learn, to play, to perform and to see where the chips fall.
Ture Asaboro
You will get the opportunity to fight for an amateur title against Ture Asaboro on one of the most well-respected regional shows in the United Kingdom. Does it add any more motivation in your mind to have a title on the line, especially your first title?
Absolutely. I’m really thankful for the promotion for the opportunity to dance with Ture. Ture is a hard worker and deserves his 3-0 record. I think about the fight every day when I wake up, during the day and before bed. I visualise myself locked in that cage with Ture every day, and I’ve prepped for him 5-6 days a week over the past few weeks and months. I understand one mistake could be costly in the heavyweight division, so I train to be closer to perfection. I underestimate no one, and my default mindset is that of an underdog.
It’s added motivation for me that Ture is in the top 5 in the UK, whereas I’m closer to ranking 50 on Tapology, I think. You can say he’s living rent-free in my head (smiles), and I can’t wait for us to meet each other in the cage and entertain the crowd.
Ture Asaboro has had a great start to his amateur career, going 3-0 and holding the title. Have you managed to watch some tapes of his previous fights? If so, what do you see he does well and perhaps not so well?
Yes. I have watched all his fights countless times and studied them deeply. I remember the key highlights of all his fights. I was supposed to fight him at a previous show (BMFMMA), but unfortunately, he got injured, and the second guy that replaced him pulled out, so I’m happy we get the chance to dance again. I admire some things about the guy which I don’t want to mention even though I’ve never met or spoken to him. He’s a big scary man with a height advantage and perhaps a reach advantage who will try to finish me in the cage. He’s quite patient and likes to counterpunch. However, I’ve seen some openings in his game that I will capitalise on. My coach and I have discoursed our game plan extensively over the past few weeks, and I’ll like to keep that to myself for now. We’ll see.
What to Expect
Sell the fight to those who will be in attendance and those tuning in on PPV next Saturday. What can viewers expect to see when the cage door locks on Giovanni Olakunori and Ture Asaboro?
Two big black gorillas are fighting for territory (smiles). Anyone who has seen me compete in various sports over the years knows I don’t like to let myself down in competition, so I will bleed for a win.
I’m a much better fighter than I was since my last outing about a year ago, and I want to make a statement. I’m sure Ture feels the same and will bring the heat, so this will make a good show. Come watch it live or tune in on PPV.
The Next Fight
Finally, all goes well. You leave with gold and uninjured. Are you looking to seek more activity for the remainder of the year, or are you just taking it fight by fight at this stage?
Certainly, I’ve not been back in the cage for almost a year since my last outing. I’ve developed a lot mentally and technically since my last outing. I’ve had a couple of fights fall out this year, but I’m still hoping to have 2-3 more fights before the end of the year after this. I have another fight lined up for June 24th at Wolkernite Fight Championship, but my focus is on May 27th at Almighty Fighting Championship.
I don’t have the luxury of time on my side, and I understand nothing is promised in this game, so my goal is to squeeze as much as I can in terms of my training and staying active and to see how far I can go.
Thanks for reaching out to me for this interview. I truly appreciate it.
Featured image credits to Giovanni Olakunori
