Johannesburg (South Africa) – EFC AFRICA 10 offers the continent’s leading MMA action across 13 tantalising bouts. Two title fights, South Africa’s best welterweights and new blood joining the ranks combine to make EFC AFRICA’s 10th event an unforgettable milestone in African MMA.
EFC AFRICA Welterweight Championship
ADAM SPEECHLY vs. DALLAS JAKOBI
EFC AFRICA Featherweight Championship
LEO GLOSS vs. DEMARTE PENA
Plus
NOLAN SWANEPOEL vs. LEON MYNHARDT
DINO BAGATTIN vs. MARTIN VAN STADEN
JP JOUBERT vs. JEREMY SCHEEPERS
TYRON RIGHTFORD vs. PAUL TERBLANCHE
WADE HENDERSON vs. JADYSON COSTA
JACQUES JOUBERT vs. MAWANDE VAPI
ARMAND DE BRUYN vs. KEITH THEOLOGO
JEAN LUC KAZADI vs. WESLEY HAWKEY
MICHIEL OPPERMAN vs. DANIEL SINCLAIR
RYAN DE VASCONCELLOS vs. TUMELO MAPHUTHA
ABDUL HASSAN vs. FRANCOIS GROENEWALD
For the evening’s main event, Dallas Jakobi will challenge current EFC AFRICA welterweight champion Adam ‘The Prodigy’ Speechly for his title. Jakobi recently made the cut from middleweight to welterweight, and with a string of explosive victories in a heavier weight division he is guaranteed to give Speechly the fight of his life. However, Speechly has already proven that he is the country’s number 1 ranked welterweight for a very good reason; as soon as he gets within grappling range he is able to force a submission from even the hardiest opponent.
The second title fight of the evening will produce EFC AFRICA’s very first featherweight champion. Top contenders ‘King’ Leo Gloss and Demarte ‘The Wolf’ Pena will battle it out in EFC AFRICA’s lightest weight class. ‘The Wolf’ has been hungry for the title since he made his pro MMA debut just 6 months ago at EFC AFRICA 07, and back-to-back wins have propelled him through the ranks. Gloss too is confident that he will leave the Carnival City Big Top Arena as EFC AFRICA’s first featherweight champion. After all, he is a former lightweight title contender and fearsome knockout artist.
The action then leaps back to welterweight, where former title challenger Nolan ‘Real Deal’ Swanepoel faces Leon ‘Iron Lion’ Mynhardt. Coming agonisingly close to the title and then losing out to Speechly at EFC AFRICA 08 has not broken the stride of talented all-rounder Nolan Swanepoel. He is back and ready to prove that he deserves another shot, but to get it he will need to go through Leon Mynhardt first. Mynhardt has recently become one of EFC AFRICA’s most promising fighters and his much-improved ground game complements his fearsome striking ability, as seen at EFC AFRICA 09 where he won Knockout of the Night.
The third main card welterweight bout pits Martin ‘The Punisher’ van Staden against Dino ‘The Lion’ Bagattin. Although van Staden has long been one of SA’s most well-respected fighters, it was his EFC AFRICA debut in June (round 1 TKO victory over Steven Momah) that earned him thousands of new fans and set him on a collision course with established Muay Thai expert Dino Bagattin. ‘The Lion’ has been stalking a title for months, sinking his claws into numerous tough opponents, and a victory against van Staden will be exactly what he needs to roar a challenge at whoever holds the welterweight belt.
At light heavyweight Jeremy ‘Happy Feet’ Scheepers faces off against JP Joubert. Scheepers holds a professional record of almost 50 fights, making him the most experienced athlete currently fighting for EFC AFRICA. However, he has only had two fights at EFC AFRICA so far, and he is raring to win over new fans. JP Joubert, also eager to make an impact after almost a year away from competition, says he just wants an opportunity to prove to Scheepers that experience doesn’t equal skill. With heavy hands and iron will, it seems nothing short of a knockout will stop him.
Another highlight, yet again at welterweight, sees South Africa’s king of trash talk, Wade ‘GOAT’ Henderson, take on Brazil’s Jadyson ‘Little Wanderlei’ Costa. For years, Silva trained out of the internationally acclaimed Chute Boxe academy in Brazil, under PRIDE and UFC legends Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and Wanderlei ‘The Axe Murderer’ Silva. He is a BJJ black belt currently based in Cape Town. Costa has also competed in extensive international competition, and is now hungry to test African MMA. Henderson is an ideal starting point; a former Muay Thai champion and BJJ brown belt, he has the weapons necessary to hold SA’s name high.
EFC AFRICA 10 also marks the return of fan favourites Jacques Joubert and Paul Terblanche at middleweight, while a host of new fighters such as Wesley Hawkey, Michiel Opperman, Daniel Sinclair, Abdul Hassan, Thumelo Maputa and Francois Groenewald begin their EFC AFRICA careers.
EFC AFRICA 10 takes place at the Carnival City Big Top Arena on 1 September. Doors open at 5pm, first fight commences at 6pm, and main card fights begin at 7.30pm. Tickets for the live event are on sale now at Computicket www.computicket.com and tickets for the live broadcast to Nu Metro Cinemas are on sale soon at www.numetro.co.za.