Connected Fighter Nahom “Blessed Wedi” Alem Poised to Make History as the First Eritrean MMA Fighter on a Major Promotion Stage
Every fighter has a record. Fewer have a network.
Nahom “Blessed Wedi” Alem is building his career on the belief that the second can carry a fighter as far as the first — and in his case, that network reads like a scouting report on modern combat sports itself: Conor McGregor’s camp, the PFL, and Misfits Boxing, all in orbit around one name.
It is a rare position for a fighter with a single professional outing on record. But Alem’s story was never going to follow the conventional path. He trains inside McGregor’s camp, a position that has put him shoulder to shoulder with one of the sport’s most recognizable operations.
He carries a PFL affiliation. And he has been in the conversation for a Misfits Boxing matchup against Gabriel Silva — a bout that, whenever it lands, would mark a genuine crossover moment between two combat sports worlds.
“I’m not knocking on doors. I’m already in the room. Now I have to make sure people remember why.”
— Nahom “Blessed Wedi” Alem
What makes Alem’s position unusual is not any single relationship — it’s the combination. Fighters spend careers trying to get access to one major camp, one major promotion, one crossover opportunity. Alem’s brand currently touches three: an elite camp, a premier MMA organization, and boxing’s fastest-growing entertainment promotion.
That is the exposure engine his team at SBG is now working to convert into a defining fight.
And then there is the legacy angle — the part of the story that goes beyond any single fight. Alem is positioning himself as a fighter of two flags: Eritrean by blood, Irish by home. He points to a background as a silver medalist representing both Ireland and Eritrea, and to a claim as the number one ranked fighter across the UK and Ireland in his weight bracket — credentials that, as his debut landed on a major stage, made him not just a prospect but a first: the first Eritrean MMA fighter to debut at that level of the sport.
“This wasn’t just my debut. It’s the first time an Eritrean fighter’s name is on that kind of card. That’s bigger than me.”
— Nahom “Blessed Wedi” Alem