Impa Kasanganay Living Out the American Dream

Impa Kasanganay may embody the American dream better than anyone in mixed martial arts. From landing a job in the Ultimate Fighting Championship to a period of homelessness to winning a $1 million prize in the Professional Fighters League, he proves that you just cannot keep a good man down.

“Tshilobo” will square off with Bellator MMA import Alex Polizzi in the PFL 2 headliner on Friday inside The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The 2023 PFL light heavyweight champion sees plenty of potential with the infusion of talent that resulted from the company’s recent acquisition of Bellator.

“I believe overall it’ll refine itself into becoming that much more of a premier organization,” Kasanganay told Sherdog.com. “Having fighters and matchups we never thought would happen just shows why there needed to be more cross-promotional fights. We’d love to fight the UFC champions. Let’s see the best fight the best and have no bones about it. They need to remove that prideful feeling. The fact that they’re pushing in that direction corrects one of the errors of boxing. It makes the belts that much more valuable.”

Splitting his time between the Kill Cliff Fight Club and DK Fitness academies in Florida, Kasanganay has no shortage of talent to assist him in his pursuits. “My trainers are Dietter Navarro, Henri Hooft and Greg Jones,” he said. “Those are my main corners.” His training partners include but are not limited to Herbert Burns, Gregory Rodrigues, Brendan Allen, Aaron Jeffery, Dilano Taylor, Jason Jackson, Marc-Andre Barriault and Gilbert Burns.

Kasanganay, a Florida native, admitted he was humbled by the loyal following of fans from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country from which his parents hail.

“I’m so honored by that. They encourage me. I carry the flag. They recognize and accept me,” he said. “My parents sacrificed so much of their lives to make it here in this country. They get to have that connection and know that their country is proud of the son that they raised. That’s cool for me, and it’s one of the biggest blessings in my career. I take that as a responsibility—I’m obligated to—and I’m grateful for it.”

Kasanganay looks forward to trying to repeat last year’s successful campaign.

“I think it’s pretty cool that there are multiple champions in this division that I’m in,” he said. “I’m blessed that I can fight. I’ve had no major injuries, nothing that’s ever stopped me from fighting or being out for a year. I’m grateful. I started training when I was 24 years old. I never grew up doing this and became a world champion by the age of 29. I’m grateful that I’ll get this next title at 30 and keep moving forward.”

Kasanganay believes a fighter’s determination to be more valuable than wins or losses. While Polizzi’s PFL debut comes on the heels of back-to-back defeats, Kasanganay refuses to underestimate his next opponent.

“I respect Polizzi,” he said. “Records are funny. The only thing’s that’s for certain is a finish. Back in the day, they had boxing matches that literally were 70-plus rounds. You don’t know a man’s heart. I know my heart, and I’ll keep pulling these victories no matter what.”