Abdoulaye Sy’s strict combat preparation routine starts four months before the “special fight.” Every morning, he wakes up at 6 a.m., prays, and pours a mystery liquid prescribed by a marabout, or local religious leader, over his head for good luck. He then heads to the beach in Dakar to train in the brisk, pre-dawn air.

The professional wrestler, who will fight in Senegal’s new Chinese-funded arena next month, is as strict about his bodybuilding regimen as he is about getting the spirits on his side. In addition to his morning mystical “bath,” in the evenings he puts pieces of paper with excerpts from the Muslim holy book, the Quran, in a water bottle, and pours the