Mandeni Muay Thai fighter wins national title
Ntando Zondi's SA champs win qualifies him for his first international competition, the Muay Thai world championships in Bangkok, Thailand in May.
South African Muay Thai champion Ntando Zondi (25) is primed for an international breakthrough when he will fight at the world championships later this year.
Originally from Mandeni, Zondi claimed his first major piece of silverware when he won gold in the Under-60 kilogram section of the South African Muay Thai championships in February.
It has fulfilled a lifelong passion for combat sports, after he first got a taste for physical competition as a rugby player at Mandini Academy and later with the Ballito Dolphins.
“I played rugby since I was in Grade 3, but always wanted to get into direct combat sport. When I started studying at UKZN, I took up Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu,” he said.
Muay Thai is a stand-up fighting discipline known as the ‘art of eight limbs’ given fighters are able to strike with their fists, elbows, shins and feet.
Jiu-Jitsu is fought mainly on the ground, using grappling and wrestling techniques, which when combined with Muay Thai, among other disciplines, makes up mixed martial arts (MMA).
“I have been training seriously for three years. The SA champs win will hopefully be the first of many,” he said.
Zondi has also been training in MMA, a more lucrative sport worldwide since the popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championships has grown.
He is ranked among the top five flyweight MMA fighters countrywide and has upcoming title fights in both the Gauteng Fighting Championships and Versus Promotions.
“Muay Thai is where I’m the strongest, but I’m working hard on my ground game, too, so that I can be a complete fighter in MMA bouts.”
Gauteng Fighting Championship.
But it is his SA champs win that qualified him for his first international competition, the Muay Thai world championships in Bangkok, Thailand in May.
It is a larger stage than any he has previously fought on and could significantly raise his profile.
Zondi already has a fight booked in Ethiopia on the way home, where he will take on continental competition as part of the African championships.
But Zondi has to fund his own way to Bangkok, needing to raise more than R40 000 by April 3.
He is hosting fundraising fights and workshops in Johannesburg, where he has been based since 2021, but also has a backabuddy page if you would like to help from afar.
Visit backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/ntando-zondi-5541577845316692803 or contact him at 067 259 0529 to find out more.
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