Ghana’s Daniel Wadieh has claimed the lightweight gold medal at the 2026 International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) African Championship in Luanda, Angola, delivering the country’s first gold medal at the continental competition.
According to the Ghana Mixed Martial Arts Federation (GHAMMAF), Wadieh defeated Ken Saleh of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the lightweight final on Sunday, the closing day of the nine-day championship held at the Cidadela Arena. He earlier overcame Alex Junior Kamgang of Cameroon in the semifinal to reach the gold medal bout. Wadieh was Ghana’s sole representative at the championships.
The 2026 IMMAF African Championship ran from April 13 to 19 in Luanda, with participating nations including Angola, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, Mauritius and the Republic of Congo.
Collins Zoiku, President of GHAMMAF, said he had predicted gold for Wadieh and expressed satisfaction that the athlete delivered on his preparation. He called on government and the corporate sector to invest more resources into Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in Ghana, arguing the sport has the talent base to compete and succeed at the highest levels on the continent.
Wadieh, who is based in the Netherlands and trains under coaches Frans Djimtche and Emirhan Bulduk, captains Ghana’s national MMA team known as the Black Warriors. He urged the country to develop more fighters for future competitions, saying the potential exists for Ghana to become a major force in African MMA.
The African Championships also serve as preparation ground for athletes ahead of the IMMAF World Championships, scheduled for November in Tbilisi, Georgia.
