“This is something uniquely African, uniquely Nigerian… Each fighter has a Mayan who acts as a guide. You won’t find this in any other combat sport.”

Centuries ago, in the arid plains of northern Nigeria, disputes were settled not with judges, but with fists wrapped in rope. The fighters? Hausa warriors. The sport? Dambe—a ritualized form of all-body combat that predates modern martial arts and emerged as both preparation for war and a sacred expression of cultural identity.

Today, this once-regional tradition is being reimagined as Africa’s gift to the global combat sports industry, through Lagos-based African Warriors Fighting Championship (AWFC), founded in 2019.

“We see this as Africa’s global contribution to combat sports,” AWFC CEO Maxwell Kalu tells FORBES AFRICA.

With over 900 million social media views to date, AWFC has cultivated a significant online following. Now, the next chapter begins.

On June 28, the AWFC will debut the Dambe World Series, airing on DAZN, one of the world’s top sports streaming platforms. The event will mark a major milestone, not only introducing the sport to millions of DAZN subscribers across 200+ countries, but also formalizing the partnership between AWFC and a broadcaster that already hosts global powerhouses like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Boxing, and LIV Golf.

The inaugural bout will feature an all-Nigerian line-up before AWFC fighters face international opponents—a deliberate move to honor the sport’s roots before entering the global ring.

Before we further explore its international trajectory, one must understand its roots: Dambe before the AWFC, a sport indigenous to Nigeria.

“It’s a massive departure from the combat sports we know in the Western world,” notes Kalu. “There’s huge amounts of culture surrounding the sport, an entire belief system thrives; it has a deep history that is still very much revered.”

Unlike Western combat sports shaped by gyms and sponsorships, Dambe is steeped in tradition among the Hausa ethnic group—one of Nigeria’s largest and most influential cultural communities.

Dambe fighters traditionally came from guilds of butchers and fishermen.

The fight style is distinctive: one hand is wrapped in kora, a tightly-bound rope known as the spear, while the other hand remains bare as the shield. Fighters aim to “kill” their opponent—not literally, but symbolically—by knocking them to the ground.

Surrounding the ring, musicians beat war drums and sing tribal anthems that are more than background noise—to not include them would be considered as senseless as entering the ring without training.

“The musicians are historians and poets,” explains Kalu. “The songs they sing have deep meaning and resonance amongst the fighters, amongst the fans, because ultimately they signal that it is time for battle.”

Another fixture in the tradition is the Mayan—a spiritual healer and medicine man who prepares fighters with ancestral herbal concoctions meant to enhance stamina, focus, and courage.

“This is something uniquely African, uniquely Nigerian,” Kalu says. “Each fighter has a Mayan who acts as a guide. You won’t find this in any other combat sport.”

Over time, Dambe moved from harvest-time festivals in Arewa, Kudu, and Gurumadu to larger urban gatherings. Now, AWFC has shifted its traditional “fight-until-you-drop” format into three structured rounds of three minutes each, mirroring formats used in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

Still, AWFC is preserving the culture. Fighters still enter the ring to live music. Mayan spiritual practices continue. The essence of Dambe remains—with camera angles, sponsorships, and global ambition.

“There’s a lot that goes into preparing for a fight beyond physical training,” says Charles Solomon, Director of Dan Bature Kudawa (The Englishman of House Kudu), a documentary that follows Luke Leyland, the sport’s first White fighter.

“Dambe is the life of these fighters. They commit to it and do all they can to beat their opponents,” adds Solomon.

“My debut [against Shagon Yellow] was the main event, with thousands betting on the outcome and over a million watching on TV,” Leyland recalls to FORBES AFRICA. “It was a historic fight, one that helped elevate the sport to new heights and set it on a whole new trajectory.”

With its high-octane appeal, Dambe enters a global arena increasingly drawn to raw, unscripted combat sports. According to the UFC, mixed martial arts content reaches nearly 900 million households across 170 countries annually.

In late 2024, Silverbacks Holdings, a Mauritius-based investment firm known for backing African fintech giants like Flutterwave and Lemfi, announced its investment in AWFC.

“Our investment in AWFC is a bet on Dambe’s ability to become a global phenomenon,” says Ibrahim Sagna, Executive Chairman of Silverbacks. “It is a sport that anyone, anywhere, can appreciate for its unscripted drama and warrior spirit.”

A few months later, DAZN—whose platform drew 1.4 billion viewers in the first half of 2024—cemented its partnership with AWFC, offering not only distribution but brand prestige. The platform is home to elite competitions across boxing, the NFL, and even the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup.

Adding even more firepower to the AWFC’s boardroom is Sanford Climan, the Hollywood executive and investor with decades of experience bridging entertainment, tech, and finance.

Despite the rising tide, challenges remain. Infrastructure lags behind. Many local arenas are little more than dusty sandpits with makeshift boundaries. Consumer spending power in Nigeria and other African markets is uneven. Still, the trajectory is undeniable.

“Ultimately, Dambe is more than a sport. It is a cultural export with the potential to place Africa at the center of the global combat sports conversation,” Sagna says.