He used to live in his car. Now, this Charlotte MMA fighter is a world champion

Impa Kasanganay lived in his car while trying to make his mark in the world of mixed martial arts fighting.

But this is no run-of-the-mill, live-in-your-car story.

Kasanganay, a former football standout at Providence High and now a world mixed martial arts champion, has three college degrees and accounting experience.

“If I got a regular job, I wouldn’t be able to train,” Kasanganay, 30, said. “And this is what I felt called to do.”

Friday night, Kasanganay will take his 17-4 record against Josh Silveira in the Professional Fighters League light heavyweight playoff semifinals, at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. Kasanganay beat Silveira by unanimous decision in last year’s championship.

It certainly wasn’t a short and direct route for this son of Congolese immigrants, from Charlotte to the top of the fight world.

After graduating from Providence in 2012, he went on to play football at Western Carolina and then at Lenoir-Rhyne. Along the way, he earned degrees in accounting and business finance. After college, he went to work for an accounting firm in Charlotte, but Kasanganay said he was restless.

‘Warrior mentality’

“Even as a child, I was intrigued with the warrior mentality,” he said. “Even before I started playing football, there was something about combat that interested me.”

So after college, he began training at a Gastonia gym, and decided to give it a try. He won his first bout, in January 2019, by split decision. By late summer that year, he was 6-0 and fighting in the contender series organized by mixed martial arts icon Dana White.

He joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) circuit in 2020 but left in late 2021. He fought in another regional circuit but by 2022, things had gotten tough.

Kasanganay had moved to South Florida, was continuing to train, but was forced to live in his car for a while.

“I would park in the gym lot overnight, then go in and take a shower when it opened,” he said.

He said he realized he could return to a business career but felt called to fighting.

Kasanganay, who said he felt God had a role in steering him to a career choice, pointed to Proverbs 14:23 for his inspiration — “All hard work brings a profit.”

In March 2023, he began trying to qualify for the Professional Fighters League and after two victories, was added to the PFL circuit.

The PFL, which started in 2018, uses a regular-season and playoff format, in which top fighters advance to postseason bouts, and eventually to an annual championship. Kasanganay had a meteoric climb up the ranks in 2023 and was fighting to the light heavyweight (205-pound) title last November.

That’s when he beat Silveira. His prize? $1 million.

“You’re never too high and mighty to wash dishes,” Kasanganay said. “I started at the bottom but then earned some respect.”

Shock for parents

He admitted that his parents — David, an engineer, and Dolly, an oncology nurse with Novant Health — were a bit shocked when he told them in 2019 that he was giving up finance for fighting.

“Talk to your son,” Dolly told her husband.

“Now they’re my No. 1 fans,” said Kasanganay, who recently opened a gym in Miami and said he wants to be a “beacon of light” to young people in his community.

He said his siblings — Victoria, a former Ardrey Kell volleyball standout who is now at Army West Point; and David, who played basketball at Ardrey Kell and now is coaching — also are strong supporters.

Should Kasaganay win Friday, in a bout with a $1 million purse, he will advance to the November finals against the winner of the other semifinal, pitting former champion Rob Wilkinson against Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov. An even bigger prize awaits that winner.

“I expect myself to be a champion,” Kasanganay said. “But I always challenge myself. What can I do to get better?”

He said that during the tough times — making the decision to fight, living in his car — he felt at peace with himself.

“I never stressed it,” he said. “I knew it was where I was called to be.”

How to watch

Coverage of Friday night’s PFL playoffs begins with preliminaries at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+. Kasanganay’s bout is part of the main card, which begins at 9 p.m. and will air on ESPN and ESPN+.