Bone cracking action at AFL tournament in Ballito

Ballito hosted its very first cage fighting tournament on Friday night, October 31 at the Ballito exhibition centre.

This historic Amateur Fight League (AFL) tournament incorporated boxing K1 (kick boxing) and mixed martial arts (MMA), giving spectators value for their money with 11 MMA cage fights and six kick boxing bouts on the bill. Included in the line-up was an SA lightweight pro amm title fight between Jordan Joubert and local fighter Chad Minnaar. The event also made history by hosting the first ever female title fight in South Africa.

The evening produced its share of early drama when Dhireen Indurdutt broke his leg in the third fight, sending a loud cracking sound through the room. The stunned audience watched as medical personnel stabalised Indurdutt before whisking him off to hospital in complete agony.

Ballito was well represented with four MMA fighters in the competition.

Justin Parsons (Ballito Bulldogs) was up against Andile Gasa (Mauy Thai MMA). Unfortunately the fight didn’t last long with Gasa claiming victory only four seconds into the first round.

Next up was Clifton Bartholomew (Ballito Bulldogs), taking on Sherwyn Desai (Dbn Gracie). With music blaring and a hyped up partisan crowd chanting “we want blood”, Bartholomew was happy to oblige. An intense exchange of punches, kicks and powerful maneuvers lasted about a minute until the referee stopped the fight, declaring a technical knock-out (TKO) in a bleeding Bartholomew’s favour.

With the SA lightweight pro amm title belt on the line, fight number nine was a highlight of the evening. Chad Minnaar (Spartan) and Jordan Joubert (Zoo) held nothing back as they went at each other like two fierce tigers. Using all available space in the cage, the two men fought hard until eventually Minnaar had Joubert pinned down, forcing him to tap-out and concede victory to Minnaar.

The last bout of the evening was the long awaited female title belt fight between current amateur world champion Amanda Lino (Ballito Bulldogs) and Durban’s Nqobile Hadebe (Mauy Thai MMA). Both women seemed to be focused, but Lino’s determination stood out. Once the bell rang she mercilessly demolished Hadebe in a mere 18 seconds. “When I enter the cage I focus on the sacrifices I have made to get where I am. I remind myself of the pain I felt in preparing for that moment. I visualise myself winning and what it feels like to win, and I tell myself that the only person who can beat me is me,” said Lino.

The four local MMA fighters thanked their supporters and sponsors for making it possible for them to do the sport they love.