…Chidi Njokuani dedicates win to late long-term coach
Chidi Njokuani returned to winning ways after two consecutive defeats, securing a unanimous decision victory over Joel Alvarez in their welterweight bout at UFC 330 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The 37-year-old entered the contest under pressure following a unanimous decision defeat to Carlos Leal Miranda in February 2026 and a rear-naked choke submission loss to Jake Matthews in July 2025. Knowing he needed a victory to strengthen his position in the UFC, Njokuani delivered an impressive performance, controlling the fight from start to finish.
The Texas-born fighter landed 159 of the 233 strikes he attempted, compared to Alvarez’s 76 successful strikes from 166 attempts. Njokuani was also the more effective fighter, landing 155 significant strikes to Alvarez’s 74.
Chidi Njokuani attempted the only takedown of the fight, but Alvarez defended successfully. Both fighters remained on their feet throughout the 15-minute contest.
More Read
Following the victory, Njokuani paid tribute to his longtime coach, Saekson Janjira, who recently passed away. He revealed that he had considered withdrawing from the fight but ultimately decided to compete because he believed his coach would have wanted him to continue.
“I’m not really looking to rush into the next fight,” Njokuani said. “As a lot of people know, I just lost my coach, Saekson Janjira, so I need time to process that, work through those emotions and then figure out what’s next.
“To be completely honest, I couldn’t even think about the fight. I didn’t watch any tape on Joel. I was just thinking about Saekson and staying close to my coaches throughout the entire process.
“I trusted my coaches and followed their instructions because I knew Saekson would have wanted me to fight. I was really close to pulling out, but I could hear his voice in the back of my head saying, ‘You’d better not pull out.’”
Njokuani has indicated that he is in no hurry to return to the Octagon. He intends to take some time to process his grief before deciding when he will compete again.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
