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By Clinton Jones

Sports Editor


It’s the ladies that will headline EFC76

Chiara Penco and Karolina Wojcik are expected to be embroiled in one massive dogfight.


The ladies lead the way in a super-stacked main card to end what has been an amazing year in the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC)

Italy’s undefeated champion Chiara Penco takes on Poland’s Karolina Wojcik for the women’s strawweight title at EFC76 at Time Square Arena in Pretoria on Saturday evening.

“Look, this should be happening, because I won my last fight,” said Wojcik, referring to her controversial split-decision loss to the United States’ Cheyanne Vlismas recently in a bout that is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest women’s encounters the EFC organisation has yet seen.

“I will show everyone who I am. I hope she is ready for that,” Wojcik continued.

Penco, riding a massive publicity wave on the news that her bout will be broadcast live in Italy for the first time, replied with the confidence of a champion.

“Tomorrow you can expect to watch a great fight, and a new Chiara in the cage,” said Penco at yesterday’s weigh-in.

Co-headlining the event sees heavyweight contenders, former champ and former UFC heavyweight Ruan Potts and American powerhouse Jared Vanderaa collide for the interim EFC heavyweight championship.

Potts is looking to win back the title he only lost because he had to relinquish it to take up a UFC contract in the United States.

“I am not concerned with his skillset. My last fight in the UFC was against Derrick Lewis and he had just fought for the heavyweight title there so I have fought some of the best out there,” Potts said earlier this week.

Also on the main card, former heavyweight kingpin, South Africa’s Andrew van Zyl, faces England’s Stuart Austin and in the opening fight of the live broadcast, Conrad Seabi and Brazilian contender Jose da Rocha are set to clash in an epic encounter.

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