Phyna turned a long-running celebrity feud into a ring victory on Thursday, knocking out Nkechi Blessing at Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos and walking away with a brand-new car plus N50 million.
The bout, staged by Balmoral Promotions and Bet9ja, capped weeks of public clashes between the Big Brother Naija Level Up winner and the Nollywood actress. Their rivalry had already spilled into a physical scuffle on The Morayo Show, a confrontation at Pretty Mike’s all-white party, and a near-fight at the pre-match press conference where security stepped in. Nkechi’s ex-boyfriend Xxssive publicly backed Phyna ahead of the night and told her not to lose while Sheggz staked 10 million on Nkechi to win.
After hours of exchanged blows, Phyna was declared the winner. She received a 2026 electric vehicle valued at over N158 million and N50 million in cash. In a post the following day, which she noted also marked the anniversary of her Big Brother win, Phyna wrote:
“October 2nd will forever be a special date in my life. Today marks the anniversary of the day I won BBN, and now, years later, I’m celebrating another historic victory: becoming the first female boxer to step into this ring and win this fight.”
She added that the result was for “every woman who has ever been told she couldn’t,” and thanked the promoters for the chance to “step into a new chapter and make history.”
Nkechi Blessing rejected the official result on social media.
“Still a champion regardless of the result. Even the blind know who the winner is. Somebody NBS. That is if you really watch the fight, o. Only two days of training. Shout-out to my coach; I love you, girl. Now let’s go back to making movies cause I am not a boxer,” she posted.
Moments after the decision, Phyna called out actress Etinosa Idemudia, who was at the venue, for a future fight. Etinosa accepted on the spot. She later criticised the challenge online, writing:
“I can’t believe Phyna called me out. All I have ever done is love and advise her right from when she was an actor in my story over 2 years ago. I guess she saw the advice as me running around in her DM. Can you imagine? I laughed over it in the ring, but it’s the audacity of me!! Edo no dey gbe Edo, but this one will be a worthy exception.”
Phyna hugged Nkechi after the bout while organisers thanked the actress for taking part. The night closed one chapter of their feud and opened another, with Etinosa now lined up as the next name on Phyna’s list.