Boksburg’s BB Gun getting down to business in New Zealand
The former EFC Africa featherweight fighter is likely not to return to an EFC hexagon after telling the Advertiser that with the move to Aotearoa he has decided to ‘put MMA on the side’ in order to allow him to concentrate on his day job.
Boksburg mixed martial artist Barend ‘BB Gun’ Nienaber has relocated to New Zealand.
Asked about his decision to leave South Africa, he said: “I will be in NZ for the rest of my life. I’m a business manager for Ford and doing very well in business. NZ has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.”
He and girlfriend Melissa Botha emigrated to start a family and for a safer future.
Perhaps the move has arrived with little surprise for BB Gun’s fans – you would have to go back to August 2017 for the last time he featured in an EFC hexagon in a loss to Sandile Manengela. It was a result which left his professional record to five wins and five losses (5-5).
The last time the Advertiser spoke to Nienaber, which was a few months after his last fight, he did say that his professional life outside of the cage was increasingly taking a lot of his time.
Uncertain about a return to the cage back then too, the featherweight fighter continued to train with one eye on a return to MMA action last year.
“I’m still training every day, but I will only fight again next year (2019) as I’m doing very well with work and can’t commit to a full training camp,’’ he said at the time.
With the situation with work apparently remaining good for the former Boksburg striker, it’s a long shot that his fans will get to see Nienaber in the hexagon again. – @SabeloBoksburg
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