Background
Chidi Njokuani was born to Nigerian parents in Dallas, Texas on December 31, 1988.
Chidi Njokuani was born to Nigerian parents in Dallas, Texas on December 31, 1988.
His name "Chidi" means "God exists" in Igbo. He was temporarily distracted from Muay Thai with skateboarding during his teenage years but eventually returned to fighting and discovered mixed martial arts at the age of 18. Turning professional in 2007 after around fifteen amateur Muay Thai fights, Chidi Njokuani came to prominence competing in the -80.7 kg/178 lb division for the Oklahoma Destroyers in the team-based World Combat League kickboxinga promotion during the 2007-2008 season in which he lost matches to such notables as Raymond Daniels and Lyman Good.
Having compiled a 7–3 record as a mixed martial artist, Njokuani signed with the Resurrection Fighting Alliance in 2012.
He made his RFA debut at RFA 3: Stevenson versus Cochrane, against Bobby Cooper.
Njokuani then was paired up with Philosophy Dace at RFA 4. He fought Jeremy Kimball at RFA 7 and lost via submission.
Returning to the Muay Thai ring, Njokuani fought to a controversial majority draw with Simon Marcus on the Push Kick Promotions: Muay Thai World Stand Office 5 card in Las Vegas on September 29, 2013.
Njokuani started the fight well, using footwork to control the ring, but Marcus soon got inside and began landing knees and elbows from the clinch. In round two, Njokuani was twice given time to recover from illegal strikes, an elbow to the back of the head and a low blow. Each time the fight continued, Marcus would begin to again work in the clinch and Njokuani repeatedly turned his back, so the referee decided to break the fighters continually.
Marcus was docked a point by referee Tony Weeks for landing a second low blow in round three and the fight turned into a brawl towards the education
When it went to the judges, the bout was declared a majority draw with two judges scoring the bout a draw and one scoring the bout for Njokuani. Simon Marcus then took to the microphone, calling Chidi Njokuani a "bitch" for his unwillingness to fight in the clinch and questioning the judges knowledge of the Muay Thai scoring system.
These post-fight comments led to a heated confrontation between Marcus and Chidi"s brother Anthony as they scuffled back stage.