New super league established to boost kickboxing in South Africa
The founding of a new super league for kickboxing in South Africa can soon move the sport out of the shadow of MMA.
The success of Mix Martial Arts (MMA) and all related tournaments in which athletes can participate nowadays attracts a lot of attention, but this development is not always good for the individual sports that are moved into the background in the process.
Many of the top MMA athletes initially made their name as kickboxers. Better exposure and more money in the professional MMA era, however, caused the country’s best kickboxers to switch to this more high-profile arena early in their careers.
The well-known kickboxing specialist and MMA expert from Centurion, Morné Lotter, recently decided to do something to put kickboxing to the fore again. Lotter realized that kickboxers in South Africa do not have enough opportunities to compete at top level. Unlike in other parts of the world, where the sport is still very popular, there was also no opportunities for local kickboxers to participate professionally in South Africa.
Lotter got his plans ready and so the new Supreme Fight League (SFL) was born. This new league was launched at the Barnyard Theatre in Rivonia recently with a spectacle featuring 13 fights on one evening. The program included amateur fighters, super-am fighters as well as professional kickboxers.
The action even included four of South Africa’s best female kickboxers. Several kickboxers from Pretoria were in action at the tournament.
According to Lotter, SFL’s main goal is to grow kickboxing, but this includes job creation as well as to create celebrities from PDi’s (Previously Disadvantaged Individuals).
SFL will host their next event during March in 2018 and is planning a further five events in the same year. This new league is affiliated to the largest kickboxing promotion globally, GLORY. As of 2018, fighters can be selected by SFL and introduced to GLORY for an international fight contract.
“This is huge news for kickboxing as never in its history was a promotor like SFL prepared to walk the extra mile to grow this exiting and well-regulated sport in South Africa,” Lotter told Rekord.
For more information about SFL and its future plans, contact Marius Lotter on 079-705-5200 or visit the website at www.sflafrica.co.za .
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