Two Potchefstroom-based mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters returned from Pretoria over the weekend after scoring tremendous victories.
Francois ‘The Business’ Meyer and Herman van der Westhuizen both fought at Fightstar 33, the top amateur MMA event in South Africa.
Although the stakes were different for the two fighters, the results were the same.
Meyer was defending his title as the Fightstar lightweight champion and competing in the finals of the Searching for a Scrap tournament. He walked out of the cage with R200 000 worth of sponsorship and a R50 000 professional fight contract. He dispatched his tough Secunda-based opponent Smit ‘Malboer’ Steyn with a textbook reverse armbar in the third round.
‘It is an awesome feeling! Getting my critics quiet was especially great,’ he beamed.
Herman van der Westhuizen faced off against Donald ‘The Lunatic’ Mabusela. Mabusela was the clear favourite as he has represented the South African team in the sport of mixed martial arts. He took the early initiative, slamming Van der Westhuizen to the ground a few times to showcase his superb wrestling pedigree. This did not deter the resilient and relentless Van der Westhuizen, though. He turned the table on Mabusela to gain top control and pound out a (TKO) victory in the first round.
‘The best way to describe it is, it was like a car crash. I didn’t have time to think, it all happened so quickly,’ he said after the fight.
According to him, when he looked back on the fight, he could see how his coach’s training had helped him get out of sticky situations.
‘When he was throwing me around like a ragdoll, I thought this was going to be a long fight. But not once did I want to quit,’ he said.
Both Meyer and Van der Westhuizen train at Coalition Grappling Academy (CGA), a gym headed up by professional MMA athlete, Roevan de Beer.
According to him, they were prepared for the fights from the start.
‘I knew Steyn only had a heavy right hand and that Francois was better in all other aspects.
‘We worked with Herman to be able to deal with Donald’s wrestling. It worked, I am so proud of both of them, I get goosebumps – just to see the hard work that they put in work in their favour,’ he said.
The Fightstar matchmaker, Grant Oliff, said he was impressed with Van der Westhuizen’s performance.
‘He beat a really good athlete, I’m hoping to see him back at Fightstar soon. What can we say about Francois? He came into the competition as the champion and left as the champion. He is definitely the one to watch in the future. He has the skills, the attitude and, most of all, the will to be the best in the world,’ said Oliff.
According to him, Van der Westhuizen will have a chance to mirror his teammate’s success and earn a spot in the next season of Searching for a Scrap. ‘We will offer him a fight on 25 August. If he wins there, he will represent Potch in season three. Judging by his performance on Saturday, I expect him to.
‘MMA is alive in Potch. The guys coming out of these gyms are proving that they are serious contenders,’ he said.
