“To me, it’s just about representation,” said Yusuff. “I recently got into an argument with somebody. Some lady in Lord the Rings was talking about how she’s proud to be the first black elf in there and they were trying to clown her. But people that don’t come from a different race don’t understand how big representation is because they’ve always seen themselves on TV. But when you start seeing people that look like you, doing the stuff you want to do, as a kid, it makes it that much more real. When you’re watching things on TV, it seems so fictional because you’re watching cartoons on there, you’re watching these movies, and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s never going to happen to me; that’s only going to happen to them.’ But the more black people or people that look like me keep accomplishing, the easier it is for the next generation to believe in.”
View Yusuff’s Athlete Profile Here
Yusuff had no guarantees when he came to a new country. But he made his own luck and created his own opportunities. That’s a heck of an example set by a young man who, along with his mom and brother, became United States citizens in 2020.
“I think this is probably the best country in the world when it comes to opportunities, where back in Nigeria, it’s very, very hard to get out of what you’re born into. Here, you could really chase your dreams. I’m a kid from the DMV, PG County, Maryland, and I decided I wanted to be a UFC fighter when I was a kid. And that’s what I’m doing now.”
Next generation, take a look at Sodiq Yusuff to see what’s possible.
