EFC: Nienaber fires on blanks
EFC 36 ended off the year with a bang in what will be remembered as one of the most exciting cards of the year.
A sold-out Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg witnessed an onslaught of submission and KO finishes at the Thursday evening, December 11, showpiece.
Undefeated featherweight champion Boyd Allen headlined the evening’s fight card in his title defence against the explosive Wade Groth.
The champion displayed the skills that have kept him undefeated inside the hexagon and continues to show why many regard him as the best-rounded fighter in the EFC.
Groth managed to land a big right hand which only served to prompt Allen to strike back and knock Groth to the ground. It was all over when Allen took his opponent’s back and sunk in his hooks to seal victory via rear naked choke in another convincing win for the champion.
In arguably the most anticipated fight of the night, Dino ‘The Lion’ Bagattin and Gordon ‘Rage’ Roodman squared off in the evening’s co-main event.
A verbal exchange between the two, which had started months prior the showdown, only served to fuel the fire between these two. The first round was a typically a back-and-forth battle with big rights and lefts exchanged.
Immediately after touching gloves in the second, Bagattin struck at Rage in typical aggressive fashion which earned him the take-down before relentlessly dropping elbows leaving the referee with little choice but to stop the fight.
DRC native Igeu Kabesa put on the performance of his career as he displayed an entire new skill set outside of his widely known wrestling game to sink Boksburg’s Barend ‘BB Gun’ Nienaber.
Kabesa opted for the stand and trade with Nienaber in the opening two rounds before resorting to his base skills of wrestling to control the bout and seal victory on the ground.
Kabesa is now on a four fight winning streak and is on route to make a run at the lightweight strap.
History was made when former bantamweight champion Nkazimulo ‘Zulu Boy’ Zulu and Francois ‘Franaconda’ Groenewald faced off for the first EFC flyweight bout.
An all-out battle lasting the full three rounds earned them Fight of the Night honours. Zulu ultimately proved his martial artist skills, emerging as the victor via unanimous decision.
The Knockout of the Night award went to Warren Allison for his KO to Gareth Sawyer. Submission of the Night went to Marino Cutendana for his submission of Oumpie Sebeko, while performance bonuses were handed to Mike Vermeulen and Bagattin for their stand-out performances. – @SabeloBoksburg
