HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
BRENDON GROENEWALD VS. DANIE VAN HEERDEN
AND
INTERIM BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
IRSHAAD SAYED VS. CEDRIC DOYLE

PLUS
DON MADGE vs. TYSON CHELIN
MARK HULME VS. KALEKA KABANDA
SIBUSISO MDOKO vs. HANRU BOTHA

BRUNO MUKULU vs. STEFAN PRETORIUS
LYLE KARAM vs. GORILLA OSSOKO
MAMOUDOU TOURE vs. ANDREW SMITH
FRANCOIS GROENEWALD vs. BONEY BUKAKA
TYRON BESTER vs. MARK KAMBA
PIETER DE KLERK vs. SYLVESTER SHIPFUMBU

Cape Town, South Africa – The GrandWest Market Hall played host to an action packed weigh-in ahead of Friday’s double title fight at EFC 48.

The event is headlined by the heavyweight title bout between former champion Brendon Groenewald and one of the most experienced athletes on the EFC roster, Danie ‘The Pitbull’ van Heerden.

Both giants were their casual selves when hitting the scale, but a mood of menacing quiet settled on the crowd when each fixed the other with a dead stare.

“This is a Danie like you’ve never seen before,” said Van Heerden. “I hope he’s ready.”
Groenewald responded with a wry smile, referencing the social media war that has been raging between them. “Danie’s said a lot, it’s time for him to prove it.”

In the co-main event, number one contender Irshaad ‘White Tiger’ Sayed takes on former contender Cedric ‘The Dominator’ Doyle for the interim bantamweight championship.

The Mother City cheered their prodigal son as Sayed hit the stage, and he roared his appreciation back at them while standing on the scale. Doyle failed to make weight initially and was forced to drop his drawers, an unexpected highlight that drew further cheers.

“I am coming to finish the fight,” said Sayed. “I’m coming to make a big statement.”

“I know all South Africans want to keep the belt in SA,” responded Doyle. “I’m keeping the belt here.” Although born in and raised in Cape Town, Sayed now lives in New Zealand.

A highly anticipated lightweight match-up takes place between Cape Town favourite Don ‘Magic Man’ Madge and Durban’s Tyson Chelin. Madge was full of the fire that took him to the lightweight championship at EFC 20, while Chelin laughed his opponent’s challenge off with typical nonchalance.

Bookmakers Betxchange.com have all three home town heroes – Groenewald, Sayed and Madge – down as favourites to win tomorrow night.

Also featuring on the main card, the controversial Mark Hulme takes on the DRC’s undefeated Kaleka ‘Block’ Kabanda. Both men are highly aggressive, setting up a cracking clash.

Opening tomorrow’s main card, former lightweight contender Sibusiso ‘The Monster’ Mdoko takes on wrestling champion Hanru Botha. Botha is making a temporary move up to lightweight, but was still the bigger looking athlete.

All athletes made weight bar Cedric Doyle, who successfully cut down to his required 61kg inside the required two hours.

The full EFC 48 weigh-in results were as follows:

Bout 1 : Bantamweight bout
Pieter De Klerk 61kg
Sylvester Chipfumbu 60.9kg

Bout 2 : Middleweight bout
Tyron Bester 82.4kg
Mark Kamba 83kg

Bout 3 : Bantamweight bout
Francois Groenewald 60.4kg
Boney Bukaka 61kg

Bout 4 : Catchweight bout
Mamoudou Toure 67.7kg
Andrew Smith 69.9kg

Bout 5: Welterweight bout
Lyle Karam 77kg
Gorillas Ossoko 77kg

Bout 6 : Catchweight bout
Bruno Mukulu 79.3kg
Stefan Pretorius 79.5kg

Bout 7 : Lightweight bout
Sibusiso Mdoko 69.2kg
Hanru Botha 69.5kg

Bout 8 : Welterweight bout
Mark Hulme 76.8kg
Kaleka Kabanda 77kg

Bout 9 : Lightweight bout
Don Madge 70kg
Tyson Chelin 69.4kg

Bout 10 : Interim Bantamweight title bout
Irshaad Sayed 60.8kg
Cedric Doyle 61kg

Bout 11 : Heavyweight title bout
Brendon Groenewald 114.9kg
Danie van Heerden 118.1kg

EFC 48: Groenewald vs. van Heerden, Sayed vs. Doyle is presented by BetXchange.com, takes place Friday 22 April 2016 at GrandWest, Cape Town. Watch the main card live on www.kwesesports.com and delayed live on e.tv. Full broadcast details at efcworldwide.com. Tickets available at www.computicket.com.