“Tinkerbell” raring to go against “Soldierboy”
EFC Africa 27 has come and gone, and the spectacle provided MMA die-hards with top-notch entertainment.
But there’s more to come at EFC 28, with a fight that has fans’ tongues wagging.
Local and Xtreme Kickboxing Technologies (XKT) fighter JP Kruger, and reigning champion Gareth “Soldierboy” McLellan, will square up for the long-awaited middleweight title bout on March 27, at the Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg.
Kruger from Boksburg, who is affectionately known as “Tinkerbell”, has placed the bout amongst the biggest in his career.
“This is one of the highlights of my career, and probably the biggest fight for me so far,” he explains.
“I have a brilliant opponent who I am going against. He has made EFC Africa history by taking the middleweight title two times.”
Kruger adds that he has been training for an excellent all-round fighter.
“You have to prepare for everything and be better than him in every discipline,” he explains.
“The guy who wants it the most will win it.”
When asked what his attitude will be when he steps into the hexagon to take on McLellan, Tinkerbell says: “My camp and I only talk about winning. Gareth is a very cool guy, but we’re not there to bake cookies.”
Kruger adds that his preparation has included a three-week training camp in Thailand, at the renowned Tiger Muay Thai.
“I have been working hard on my wrestling and now I’m back here working on all the disciplines. XKT Pro League has been doing great work by hiring the best-of-the-best specialists in their area to train me.”
When quizzed on why people should go out and watch the fight, he states: “This is going to be a very exciting fight between two middleweights. I believe that the middleweight division is the strongest division; it’s your fast guys with knockout power and ability.
“You don’t need to trash talk to hype this fight; when people say Tinkerbell is going to take on Soldierboy, you just don’t need to hype it.”
