Impa Kasangany vs Jakob Nedoh (Credit: PFL)
Impa Kasanganay willed by dominant mindset to earn top seed in 2024 PFL Playoffs
This past weekend in the second round of the PFL Light Heavyweight tournament, 2023 champion Impa Kasanganay showed his world class resolve. Kasanganay had been matched up against the 2023 PFL Europe champion, Jakob Nedoh and faced adversity in the early stages of the fight. Never one to quit on himself or his situations, Kasanganay dug deep and got the finish at the end of the second round due to a doctor’s stoppage.
Leading into the 2024 PFL season, Impa Kasanganay discussed his singular focus of domination. That focus is simple: If the first-round finish is there, he will take it with everything he has, if not, he will display a complete masterclass and find the finish when the right opportunity is presented to him. The difference in the fight against Nedoh, the co-main event of PFL Salt Lake City, is the finishing sequence was brutally violent, the chaos between both men was jaw-dropping, and the dominance factor? It came from the mindset and mentality of last year’s champion.
Speaking to the media after the fight, Kasanganay spoke about his willingness to sacrifice it all during a fight, die inside the cage, and it is because of that mentality, combined with his faith and the way he was raised by his parents, that allowed him to overcome and seal the victory.
“For me, I want to dominate everyone. I want first-round finishes, I want to fight all champions, I want to be the best to ever do it and part of that is when you fight people who are excellent too. I don’t want to fight anybody who is just okay, just decent. You see Jakob Nedoh is meant to be in this. When I talk to kids at the gym I tell them ‘You can not break’ and there was no way I was going to break. You literally have to kill me. The mindset is instilled by my parents and by my faith. I’m going to refine and I’m going to be better.”
Having won eight of his last nine fights, Impa Kasanganay has paved his own path. After working his way through other promotions, the 2023 champion has not only found his stride but his calling with the Professional Fighters League. Earlier this year he was featured in the CHAMPS vs CHAMPS showcase which matched him up against Bellator middleweight champion Johnny Eblen, and there’s plenty of debate about attaching the word “defeat” to his resume for it. He showed up and showed out against one of the most dominant champions in any current promotion.
Dominant. That’s the word to describe the opponents in which Impa Kasanganay aims for. Dominant is the word that best describes the run that he has been on since joining the PFL and winning their 2023 season, looking to repeat that same effort in 2024. It is also the mindset of a man who thrives not only inside the PFL’s SmartCage, but also thrives in life as a man looking to give back to his sport, his family, his businesses, and most importantly, his community.
That’s why on another big fight week, he made it a point to take part in running and hosting a boxing class at a local gym in Salt Lake City, just days before facing another formidable opponent.
That is who Impa Kasanganay has set out to be and he has, continuously, shown to thrive in the role of a dominant fighter, a dominant man, who dares to achieve more than others could have ever imagined.
Awaiting him next is a rematch from the 2023 PFL Finals where he claimed gold in an unanimous decision victory over Josh Silveira. The two will meet in the 2024 PFL Semi-finals on August 16, in Hollywood, Florida.
