Mad Dog best on the planet!

In a fight whose brutality was matched only by her determination not to give up, Ballito’s Amanda ‘Mad Dog’ Lino claimed her second world champion’s belt on Saturday night.

Mad Dog went up against the Moroccan Olympic judo star Rizlen ‘Lioness of the Atlas’ Zouak for the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) Bantamweight World Championship belt at Sibaya Casino.

The fight, which promised to be one for the ages, did not disappoint as Zouak seemed comfortably in control for much of the time.

Lino frequently charged in fists flying, upon which the Olympic judo star would wait until she overextended before repeatedly flinging Mad Dog to the ground with an almighty crash.

The Moroccan then locked Mad Dog into a series of holds that seemed inescapable.

In the second round, it appeared as though Lino was done for when Zouak slammed her to the mat like a rag doll and locked her in a vicious choke hold, before she started raining blows down on Mad Dog’s unprotected face with no hint of mercy.

Lino desperately tried to get a hand out of the lock and in front of her nose to protect against the unending stream of punches.

Much to the surprise of the crowd, Lino somehow managed to extricate herself from these impossible holds every time.

In the final round she was able to pin The Lioness beneath her before unleashing a brutal flurry of blows which brought the crowd screaming to their feet – baying for blood – to win by knockout.

It was clear that the passionate, unbridled support from her fans kept Lino going throughout the fight, helping her dig deep to escape the mighty Moroccan’s monstrous ground game – a fact which she acknowledged after being awarded the Bantamweight title.

Saturday’s victory means Mad Dog is now a double world champion, having already claimed the EFC Flyweight belt, and is undeniably the best female fighter in the world.

Mad Dog was not the only fighter representing the Dolphin Coast at Sibaya over the weekend.

Martin de Beer went fist to fist against Yusuf Hassan of Durban’s “first family of fighting” – the Hassan clan.

De Beer was rocked back by a big right hook in the opening minutes, however the Ballito fighter would not be put on the back foot so easily and – like a spider with eight arms – he used his impressive ground game to wrap Hassan up and force a submission, bringing massive cheers from the ecstatic home crowd.

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