5 Things You Might Not Know About Oumar Sy

Undefeated light heavyweight prospect Oumar Sy will make his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut this Saturday when he takes on George Tokkos in the featured UFC Fight Night 241 prelim at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Tokkos steps in on less than a week’s notice to replace Antonio Trocoli, who withdrew from the event for undisclosed reasons. Sy carries a 9-0 record with a 77% finish rate—attributes which secured his spot in the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization.

As Sy gears up to meet Tokkos at 205 pounds, here are five things you might not know about the undefeated Frenchman:

1. His roots were firmly established in his youth.

Finding one’s calling early on in life is like striking gold—something about which Sy knows a thing or two. He found out at a very young age that he was athletically gifted and leveraged those skills into a flourishing career. “I quickly understood that I had athletic abilities for fighting,” Sy told UFC.com.

2. He embraces a title-free identity.

The Parisian has never laid hands on a championship gold. Having said that, Sy remains unfettered and prefers to keep his identity grounded in reality. His undefeated record speaks for itself. “No official title,” he said, “but my real title is my invincibility.”

3. He likes to break the mold.

For fighters, there is often a commonality in looking up to heroes and idols for inspiration. Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Sy adopts an iconoclast’s perspective in which he embraces personal journey and detaches from heroic archetypes. “Every hero has weaknesses,” he said.

4. He has an elaborate plan for his UFC career.

Now that he is signed to the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world, Sy wants to slowly establish ground in the 205-pound division, starting with a solid win against Tukkos. Once he arrives, he wants to slowly climb the divisional ladder into the Top 15 before pursuing a breakthrough atop the division. “This was my goal from the start of my career,” Sy said. “Now that this objective is achieved, the next is to enter the Top 15.”

5. Life taught him valuable lessons.

Sy has largely avoided delving too deeply into his education or his occupation prior to competing professionally. The way he sees it, he was forged in the school of the hard knocks. “I didn’t do much studying,” Sy said. “I was more diligent in the school of life. I started fighting too early to work before, but at the moment, I am also a motorcycle taxi.”