“I started thinking if I don’t win this one, I would stop fighting,”
This is what was going through, professional mixed martial arts athlete, Roevan de Beer’s mind before his last fight.
He had already lost three in a row, before he stepped out to face Zwelibanzi Ngema on Saturday (26 May) in Durban.
“I pulled out all the stops for this one,” he said.
De Beer beat his opponent in the first round via triangle choke in a fight that can only be described as a grind.
“It was a feeling of total relief. All the doubts I had, vanished as soon as my hand was raised,” said de Beer.
It was by no means an easy fight for him, he had to work hard to get the win. Although he had to grind out the victory he feels that everything is starting to fall into place for him.
“This is the second fight since I started my own MMA club in Bailliepark. I am consistently tweaking the training regime. It looks like its starting to work well,” he said.
De Beer took Ngema to the ground early in the fight
“I knew my best chance was to go to the ground. I didn’t want to go to ground so early in the fight though. Once I landed the first kick he switched stances to southpaw. In my previous camp I put in lots of time training to take down southpaw fighters,” he said.
According to de Beer this triggered him to go for the takedown.
The continuous assistance that he gets from American Vlad Koulikov, a master of Judo, SAMBO and Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, played a big part in getting him his first win in the EFC.
“I test all the techniques I want to use with him. He then suggests ways to make them better. He also helped me with my preparation. He suggested drills and exercises that we should use. These are all things we started using at the club,” said de Beer who is Koulikov’s representative in South Africa.
This humble fighter appreciates the support that he, win or lose, gets from the community of Potchefstroom.
“I have to also thank our Heavenly Father. Without Him, nothing would be possible. My wife who has to deal with all my mood swings. My main training partners, Francois Meyer and Charl Bouwman, also my family.
“Ek moet ook ons Hemelse Vader bedank. Sonder Hom sou ek niks kon doen nie.
All my sponsors, Team Daly, Training Elite, Gym4Life and Sasol Bailliepark, without these guys the journey would be much more difficult,” he said.
According to De Beer, who is the first fighter from Potchefstroom to be contracted by the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), there are bucketloads of potential in Potchefstroom.
“The guys just need to train right and work hard. Do your homework when confronted with new techniques don’t train on hearsay,” he said.
Before the interview with De Beer is over a local fan walks up to him to ask for a photo with the fighter. Things look like they are finally looking up for him.
