KSI has revealed the origin story behind his name, says people are 'fuming' with him because of it

KSI has revealed the origin behind his YouTube name and explained why it left certain people “fuming” following his superstar success.

YouTuber turned rapper, Prime owner and boxer KSI has been the name on much of the combat world’s lips since Saturday, having lost to Tommy Fury by a controversial unanimous decision in Manchester.

Fury stayed unbeaten as a professional boxer with the win, despite being docked a point for illegal shots to the back of his opposition’s head, while KSI (real name Olajide Olatunji) tasted defeat for the first time in a boxing ring.

Indeed, KSI was furious after the loss, labelling the scores “a robbery” and “outrageous” while promising to appeal.

Despite his prominence across multiple fields, KSI has retained his YouTube alias for all his ventures, rather than using his actual name.

According to KSI, the name originated from a Halo clan back in his Xbox 360 days and his desire to become a member of said clan.

As he explains in the above video, KSI revealed he was known as ‘KSI Olajidebt,’ which he initially also used on his YouTube brand before eventually dropping the ending.

Speaking on the origins of his name, he said: “KSI actually came from a Halo clan, so this Halo clan called ‘KSI.’

“I, as a kid, really wanted to join the clan, so my name was just Olajidebt on the Xbox 360.

“I remember going to this chat and being like, ‘Oh, I want to be part of the KSI clan.’ And they were like, ‘Ah, okay, you’re gonna have to change your name to KSI Olajidebt,’ blah, blah, blah.

“I said, ‘All right, cool, I’ve changed it, oh my God, am I part of the clan?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah, welcome.’

“And I’m like, ‘Yo, this is sick!’ And then eventually, obviously, the whole Halo phase went and I was just stuck with this name, so I kind of just kept the whole KSI part and just made it my own.

“And now it’s crazy because that clan is just fuming [laughs] because now they all look like fanboys of me.”

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Topics: Boxing, KSI, Tommy Fury

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.