Impa Kasanganay talks PFL success and coming back after UFC release
Impa Kasanganay has had a difficult road to the PFL playoffs, but nonetheless, he’s here.
Back in 2020, his confidence was at an all time high, but by 2021, things took a turn.
Back in 2019, Kasanganay picked up a unanimous decision win over Kailan Hill on Dana White’s Contender Series, but he wasn’t selected for a UFC contract.
Then in 2020, he was invited back on the show to face Anthony Adams and once again he earned a unanimous decision win, but this time he earned a UFC contract.
The moment was special for Kasanganay, but sometimes, being the UFC can be cut throat and things don’t always pan out.
In his first and only four-fight contract with the UFC, Kasanganay went 2-2 and the UFC did not re-sign him to the promotion.
Now as a free agent, Kasanganay took a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion and he suffered a split decision loss.
At this point, Kasanganay is now out of the UFC and lost a fight outside of it. While many would have been down, Kasanganay knew he had all the tools to be a champion and he kept grinding away in the gym.
His next fight would come in the XMMA promotion and Kasanganay took on another former UFC fighter in Jared Gooden.
This is the fight where things finally started to come together for Kasanganay as he was able to get a first round TKO win to get himself back on the winning track.
After that win, a big promotion came calling, but not necessarily for a guaranteed contract.
The PFL invited Kasanganay to fight on their Challenger Series show to try and earn a PFL contract and just like he did twice before, he delivered a win on a show with a big contract on the line.
Kasanganay secured another first round TKO win, earned a PFL contract and then continued to win.
During his first season with the PFL, Kasanganay won both his matchups and qualified for the light heavyweight playoffs where he’ll fight Martin Hamlet on Aug. 4 in the semifinals.
Prior to the fight Kasanganay spoke with MyMMANews about his road to this point, his first season with the PFL and his upcoming fight.
You can watch his full interview in the video above.
