Sors Grobbelaar (left) stares heavyweight champion Andrew van Zyl down at the EFC AFRICA 23 weigh-in.

Johannesburg (South Africa) – MMA fans were treated to an explosive 30 minutes at the EFC AFRICA 23 weigh-in this afternoon.

Two title fights headline tomorrow night’s event. Universally feared heavyweight champion Andrew ‘One Gear’ van Zyl defends his belt for the first time against Sors ‘Guru’ Grobbelaar, a kickboxing specialist on a trail of KO victories. Similarly Michiel Opperman, the submissions specialist who is yet to be defeated in the EFC AFRICA Hexagon, defends his welterweight belt for the first time against the man with the fastest hands in the division; Dino Bagattin.

“It’s going to be an explosive fight,” said Van Zyl of tomorrow night’s encounter, “I plan to push him hard.”

“I’ve trained hard, I will be your champion,” added Bagattin.

Highlights of the event were the bad blood stare down between Martin van Staden and Henry Fadipe, and the equally charged face-off between Johan van Staden (Martin’s brother) and Capetonian Sibusiso Mdoko.

Martin van Staden and Fadipe were originally scheduled to face each other at EFC AFRICA 19, but Van Staden had to pull out due to a month long bout of flu. The bout was rescheduled for EFC AFRICA 22, but scuppered when, due to a series of administrative problems, Fadipe was unable to secure his travel VISA from Ireland.

Smack talk exploded on social media with Van Staden accusing Fadipe of negligence, and Fadipe responding with the desire to prove his commitment in the Hexagon. This bout is certain to be a blistering encounter as both have a huge point to prove.

To add to the drama, Fadipe failed to make weight, missing his 77kg target by 500g. (He has subsequently dropped the weight within the required two hours.)

Wesley Hawkey was the only other athlete to hit the scale heavy, missing his target by a mere 350g. A re-weigh after the event minus clothing brought him within the 66kg featherweight limit.

EFC AFRICA 23 Weigh-in results were as follows:

Bout 1 : Featherweight bout
Nelson Feiteira 65.70kg
Anicet Kanyeba 66.10kg

Bout 2 : Bantamweight bout
Baldwin Mdlalose 61.20kg
Pierre Botha 61.00kg

Bout 3 : Middleweight bout
Bruno Mukulu 82.60kg
Dricus du Plessis 83.35kg

Bout 4 : Featherweight bout
Hanru Botha 65.85kg
Peter Nyide 66.00kg

Bout 5 : Bantamweight bout
Craig Ninow 60.60kg
Francois Groenewald 61.00kg

Bout 6 : Heavyweight bout
Brendan Groenewald 108.95kg
Roelof Scheepers 105.55kg

Bout 7 : Lightweight bout
Sibusiso Mdoku 69.70kg
Johan van Staden 70.00kg

Bout 8 : Lightweight bout
Khalil Akleker 69.70kg
Alex Cheboub 69.85kg

Bout 9 : Heavyweight bout
Vandam Mbuyi 108.35kg
Wilhelm Strauss 117.20kg

Bout 10 : Welterweight bout
Henry Fadipe 77.50 (He has subsequently cut the 500g)
Martin van Staden 76.70kg

Bout 11 : Featherweight bout
Wesley Hawkey 66.35kg (Has re-weighed and made weight)
Boyd Allen 65.95kg

Bout 12 : Welterweight championship bout
Dino Bagattin 77.00kg
Michiel Opperman 76.50kg

Bout 13: Heavyweight championship bout
Sors Grobbelaar 115.85kg
Andrew van Zyl 117.60kg

EFC AFRICA 23, presented by MusclePharm, takes place at the Carnival City Big Top Arena on 12 September 2013. Tickets on sale now at www.computicket.com. Tickets for the live broadcast to Nu Metro Cinemas available now at www.numetro.com.

Broadcast information and full fight card available at efcafrica.com