UFC 246 proved to be a the perfect night for “Super” Sodiq Yusuff after a landmark time in his life, but he needed love, support and some wise words from his mother to make sure he got the win he wanted.
Yusuff (11-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), his mother and his brother all received their U.S. citizenship during the lead-up to his victory over Andre Fili at UFC 246 in Las Vegas. Afterward, he admitted he was so ecstatic at the news that he had to work hard to get his mind back on the task at hand.
“We got our citizenship a couple of weeks back, and we didn’t really get to celebrate,” Yusuff told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage at T-Mobile Arena. “I was ready to start filing as soon as we got our citizenship. I was like, ‘All right, it’s time for me to start filing for my brothers and sisters to try to get them over here.’ But my mom was like, ‘Hey, relax, man! Go and take care of your fight first.’”
Yusuff’s mom had a good point. With just a few weeks to go until his fight, he couldn’t afford to miss out on training ahead of the biggest matchup of his career. Indeed, time was so tight that Yusuff had to train as soon as he left his citizenship meeting.
“As soon as we left the citizenship place – we took our vows, they gave us our new passports and stuff like that – I had to go straight back to practice,” he said. “I was so eager to start filing for my brothers and sisters, but my mom was like, ‘Go and get the win first. After the fight, then we can celebrate your citizenship, celebrate your fight, and then we’ll start filing for your brothers and sisters.’”
It meant Yusuff went to his first training session as an officially documented U.S citizen and got straight back to preparing for Fili.
“It means a whole lot to me, so the fact that when it happened, it was really hard for me to focus. Because it’s like, ‘Man, I don’t want them to wait any longer,’” Yusuff said. “Because no matter what, the process to bring them over here is going to take a while, but I guess the three weeks I had to prepare for the fight, my mom said, ‘You can wait.’”
Yusuff went on to explain just how much support from his mother has been, as he revealed how her love helps him ahead of his fights.
“That’s my mom’s greatest superpowers, those oils and prayers that she’s got,” Yusuff said. “She’s always showering me in them. It doesn’t matter whether you’re religious or you’re not. Just being around the positive vibe and that positive energy, it does a lot for an athlete’s career, especially in a sport like this where so much of it is mental. All of the physical stuff is done in practice; everything else is just mental. So just being around that positivity changes a lot.”
Yusuff even takes time to go and stay with his mother before his fights. It’s a tradition that started when he was advised to move out of the fighter house he lives in due to one of his housemates getting sick. He turned to his mother, and he ended up starting a regular routine that continues to this day.
“I went to go stay with my mom, and I hadn’t lived with my mom since I was in high school,” he explained. “Every morning she’d wake me up with a bunch of oils and prayers and stuff like that. The first night it kinda freaked me out. I was like, ‘Whoa, what the heck is this?’ But after a while I liked it. Since then I purposely go over there two weeks before the fight and sleep on her couch just because of that positive energy and positive vibes. Like I said, it might sound silly to some people, but that energy goes a long way.”
The inspiration cuts both ways, too. While Yusuff’s mother’s oils, prayers and motherly support have helped get the best out of him, his dedication and success has inspired her to hit the gym herself, though he remains adamant that she won’t be hitting anything or anyone else.
“She’s doing really well. She lost a good 20-30 pounds since she started,” Yusuff said with a smile. “I’d say it’s one of my proudest accomplishments, getting her in the gym. One day she called me up, and she was like, ‘Man, would they let people my age fight?’ I was like, ‘Man, cut this out,’ and I made sure I called my striking coach straight away and said, ‘If I see my mom doing any kind of sparring, man, me and you are gonna have problems!’ I don’t want her to do any type of fights. But she’s happy. She loves it, as you can tell.”
The keys to Sodiq Yusuff's UFC 246 victory? Oils, prayers and a new U.S. passport