THE MIGHTY KING HAS FALLEN, SENE VS MODOU.

The African traditional wrestling of Senegalese extraction has gotten itself a brand new king of the arena. Eumeu Sene succumbed to the perfidious blows of a familiar fore, thus, unerringly, yielding the much sought after crown and the most coveted seat of the king of the arena to Modou Lo.

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The stadium is filled to the brim, sounds of drums and other traditional musical instrument fills the air with rhythms typical of such major event. The chants of fans from every part of Africa in support of their respective fighters can be heard miles away. Everyone is enthusiastically waiting for the swords to be drawn, waiting for the blood flow, to turn the soft sand of the arena crimson red. The marabous are not left out in the frenzy, every recruit is transfixed into the metaphysical world, conjuring up the spirits of victory and defeat, for and against a client and opponent.

After the usual instruction that precedes wrestling encounters by the referee, the two wrestling behemoths wasted no time to engage each other. As usual, the monotonous flapping of hands took a major chunk of the fight. For an ordinary spectator or a wrestling newbie, the hands flapping will definitely be boring.That conclusion may not wrong especially when it takes too long in a fight of this magnitude. But no one should be fooled, it is a traditional stratagem used by fighters to size opponents, a readying period to launch an attack while simultaneously reciting silent incantations. One can say that it is simply a warming up period within a fight.

But this particular fight in question is lacking in the requisite attributes and ingredients of fighting excitation that is expected to incite the fans into frenzy and a thunderous roar that can be heard some couple of miles away. There were neither kicks nor the usual locking of arms in the conventional way. Both wrestlers were too wary of each other, such that the crowd were left wondering whether the people at the center of the arena were women performing moonlight clapping of hands game or some such.

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I know that even in advanced fights of better climes such as the MMA, there are fights that are won in seconds or within the first rounds to the charging and disappointments of fans that traveled miles to watch. But for this very bout to end abruptly after the boring flapping of hands with just few attempts at isolated jabs is quite disappointing I must confess.

How the former king of the arena ended flat faced on the gritty sand is baffling to say the least. The upper cut delivered by Modou Lo came flying out of nowhere, and it was lights out for Sene. The former king of the arena was momentarily sent to the land of no return, faced down perhaps paying obeisance to his ancestral sands. Looking at it closely, I am not sure if the blow was rendered out of conscious volition, aimed at the opponent for it to have such a devastating effect or whether it was rendered by chance when it hit its mark.

The knockout punch, whether a lucky one or deliberately delivered will go into the history books of the African Traditional Wrestling as one of the best KO of the century. For the reigning king of the arena to remain flaccid like a spent hard member, replete of sap and energy is not a common occurrence at such major events.

This means that the journey embarked by Modou to the USA was not in vain. In my last post heralding this encounter, I made mention that Modou went to the USA in other to specifically strengthened his fore arms. Sene on the other hand remained at home to train in the traditional way. Well, it appears that where the snows fall has once again reaffirm that it is superior to where the Banana grows.

Modou Lo’s fans apparently cannot be disappointed with the win, despite the absence of flare and panache. Modou did promised his fans to repeat a feat of several years ago and he kept it in style. The task ahead is quite huge, becoming the king is one thing, but remaining the king is another thing entirely. The former king was able to reign for just over a year, will Modou reign for a year and beyond? Well, the sands of the arena will be the determinant.

No doubt Sene’s fans are extremely disappointed and will remain truly so for a long time. How the former king of the arena will be able to redeem his image remains to be seen. This is the second time Sene is loosing to Modou Lo, will this be the final seal to disputation between the duo or will Sene ask for a re-match? Are doubters and mullahs going to be silenced forever? I guess only time will tell.