Hakeem Dawodu’s path to the UFC was kick-started by his will to change his circumstances and two strangers who believed in him.
Dawodu was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to a Nigerian mother and a Jamaican father. In his youth, his father was deported and that had a significant impact on Dawodu’s upbringing.
“It definitely affected financial situations. When he left for Jamaica he wasn’t able to send my mom any money. It really affected us,” he told Kajan Johnson and Shakiel Mahjouri on the Pull No Punches podcast.