Johannesburg (South Africa) – This Thursday, at EFC AFRICA 23, 26 of Africa’s greatest warriors descend on Johannesburg’s Carnival City to do battle in the Hexagon.
“This card is one of the biggest we’ve seen this year,” said EFC AFRICA president Cairo Howarth, referring to the two huge title fights on display that evening – the heavyweight clash between champion Andrew ‘One Gear’ van Zyl and challenger Sors Grobbelaar, and the welterweight battle between champion Michiel Opperman and challenger Dino ‘The Lion’ Bagattin.
The heavyweight title bout has received an added dimension with both Grobbelaar and Van Zyl fighting for a R5k win bonus to be donated to the cancer charity or cause of their choice, on the back of Grobbelaar initially stating that he is dedicating his fight to Global Child Cancer Awareness Month and Van Zyl revealing that one of his students is a sufferer. Both Van Zyl and Opperman will be defending their belts for the first time.
“Added to the title fights,” said Howarth, “we have the bout between Boyd Allen and Wesley Hawkey, a fight fans have been calling for for a long time, and we’re finally going to see Martin van Staden go up against Henry Fadipe.”
Van Staden and Fadipe where originally scheduled to face each other at EFC AFRICA 21, but a severe, month long bout of flu forced Van Staden to pull out of the matchup.
Rescheduled to face each other at EFC AFRICA 22 controversy struck when Fadipe was not able to secure a travel VISA in time. The Nigerian born, Ireland based athlete had literally been camped outside of the South African embassy in his home town of Dublin for the better part of that week, but to no avail.
Huge smacktalk exploded with Van Staden accusing him of negligence. The two have been at each other since. Their bout promises to be an intense encounter.
With other stars such as Strauss and Mbuyi in action, specialists Cheboub and Aklekker finally facing off, Johan van Staden returning for a go at up and coming sensations Sibusiso Mdoko, both Botha wrestling sensation twins hitting their second appearances and 19 year old WAKO world champ Dricus du Plessis to put in his second Hexagon performance, September 12 is set for one of the biggest nights of MMA so far.
Here’s a list of highlights to look out for in the final lead up to EFC AFRICA 23.
Tuesday:
Betting on all EFC AFRICA 23 bouts opens at www.betxchange.co.za
Michiel Opperman and Dino Bagattin appear on UJFM 95.4 with Andrew Hope,18h30.
Andrew van Zyl appears on YFM 99.2, 21h00.
Henry Fadipe touches down at OR Thambo international airport, 06h30.
Wednesday:
Michiel Opperman and Dino Bagattin appear on Highveld Stereo 94.7 with Wackhead Simpson, 07h30.
EFC AFRICA 22 Weigh-in. Fans are invited to attend the EFC AFRICA 23 weigh-in event, live, at Carnival City’s Sports Bar. Be a part of the live SuperSport Blitz broadcast, see Africa’s greatest warriors face off for the first time, and support your fighter in EFC AFRICA’s top gym support competition.
Andrew van Zyl and Sors Grobbelaar appear on Highveld and 702, 17h30 & 18h30.
Thursday:
EFC AFRICA commentator and Fighters Only SA Editor in Chief Dirk Steenekamp appears on Jacaranda FM’s Morning Drive, talking fight night inside info with Robbie Kruse.
EFC AFRICA 23. Doors open at 16h00, first bout commences at 16h15.
EFC AFRICA 23 Post Event Press Conference. Commencing 30 minutes after the event and held in Carnival City’s Sports Bar, media and fans are invited to attend and listen to the main card athlete’s views on their bouts, as well as KO, Fight and Submission of the night winners.
Friday:
EFC AFRICA 23’s main event winner appears on Jacaranda FM’s breakfast show, talking inside the previous night’s fight with Robbie Kruse.
How to watch EFC AFRICA 23 live:
16h15 CAT: Prelim bouts 1 – 8. Catch these fights live at the venue, at selected Nu Metro Cinemas in full HD and at the new, reduced price of R95, or stream them live at efcafrica.tv.
20h00 CAT: Live broadcast commences with main card bouts 9 – 13. Catch the action live in:
Africa
20h00 CAT – SuperSport09, SS5HD (Catch EFC AFRICA 23, Journey to the Hexagon, immediately before)
North Africa & Middle East
20h00 CAT – Abu-Dhabi TV
United States, Canada & Caribbean
14h00 EST – Fight NOW! TV
Romania
21h00 EEST – Transilvania Live
Global
Stream the entire prelim and main card live through efcafrica.tv. Visit the website for up to date pricing details.
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 at www.numetro.com.
Broadcast information and full fight card available at efcafrica.com