EFC Flyweight Championship

NKAZIMULO ZULU VS. CRAIG NINOW

PLUS

AMANDA LINO vs. ISABELLE PARE
WARREN ALLISON vs. RAFAL HARATYK
WESLEY HAWKEY vs. SIZWE MNIKATHI
TYSON CHELIN vs. TUMISANG MADIBA

BALDWIN MDLALOSE vs. JP BUYS
NELSON FEITEIRA vs. PIERRE BOTHA
KERON DAVIES vs. QUAID OPENSHAW
MARTIN DE BEER vs. TSHILUMBA MULUMBA
GEORGI GEORGIEV vs. DIDIER NYEMBWE
PIETER DE KLERK vs. ANDREW SMITH
MARIO FERREIRA vs. TERYL SINGH

 

Durban, South Africa – The foyer at Durban ICC hosted the official EFC 43 weigh-in today. Headlined by the inaugural flyweight championship between the former bantamweight champion Nkazimulo ‘Zulu Boy’ Zulu and Durban’s Craig ‘Nemo’ Ninow, it was evident that the Durban crowd is fully behind their hometown hero.

Tensions between the opposing camps became evident when Zulu and Ninow stood face-to-face for the final time before they clash in the Hexagon, with neither athlete wanting to be the first one to back down.

“I’m putting my heart on the line and I’m keeping the belt in Durban,” Ninow proclaimed to the audience who cheered his every word. “The belt belongs in Johannesburg and I am taking it home,” responded Zulu, who beat Ninow via unanimous decision in their previous meeting in the bantamweight division. The encounter is best remembered for the devastating head kick that Zulu inflicted on Ninow, leaving him with a severely disfigured nose.

For the first time in EFC history, female athletes will feature on the main card. Coming out to a thunderous applause, local favourite Amanda ‘Mad Dog’ Lino stood eye-to-eye with the ferocious femme fatale from France, Isabelle Pare in a catchweight bout. Lino is making her second appearance in EFC, after demolishing Stephanie Quaile in her debut. Pare is making her EFC debut.

Also featuring on the main card is Warren Allison, who faces Rafal Haratyk in a number one contender fight in the middleweight division and Durban favourite Wesley Hawkey, who meets the ever-dangerous Sizwe Mnikathi in the featherweight division.

Three athletes initially failed to not make weight. Tyrel Singh, Tshilumba Mulumba and Baldwin Mdlalose opted to take a purse penalty.

The full EFC 43 weigh-in results were as follows:

Bout 1: Lightweight bout
Teryl Singh 71.40kg
Mario Ferreira 69.85kg

Bout 2: Featherweight bout
Andrew Smith 65.90kg
Pieter de Klerk 65.80kg

Bout 3: Middleweight bout
Didier Nyembwe 83.55kg
Georgi Georgiev 82.70kg

Bout 4: Bantamweight bout
Tshilumba Mulumba 62.80kg
Martin de Beer 60.25kg

Bout 5: Middleweight bout
Quaid Openshaw 83.95kg
Keron Davies 83.90kg

Bout 6: Featherweight bout
Pierre Botha 65.80kg
Nelson Feiteira 66.00kg

Bout 7: Flyweight bout
JP Buys 56.90kg
Baldwin Mdlalose 59.2kg

Bout 8: Featherweight bout
Tumisang Madiba 65.70kg
Tyson Chelin 65.70kg

Bout 9: Featherweight bout
Sizwe Mnikathi 65.90kg
Wesley Hawkey 66.00kg

Bout 10: Middlweightweight bout
Rafal Haratyk 83.90kg
Warren Allison 83.75kg

Bout 11: Catchweight bout
Isabelle Pare 57.80kg
Amanda Lino 58.00kg

Bout 12: Flyweight Title bout
Craig Ninow 56.95kg
Nkazimulo Zulu 56.85kg

EFC 43: Ninow vs. Zulu, presented by BetXchange.com, and takes place at Durban ICC, on Saturday 27 August 2015. Tickets available at www.computicket.com.