James Dalton. Photo: Gallo Images.
Fiery and troubled former Springbok hooker James Dalton is officially in negotiations to fight in the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC).
In a video produced by SARugbymag, EFC president Cairo Howarth confirmed that the organisation’s “job is to put on fights that people want to watch and to showcase the best MMA (mixed martial arts) athletes that South Africa and the world has to offer”.
The 47-year-old Dalton, nicknamed ‘Bullet’ during his 41-Test career with the national rugby team, is hardly a slouch when it comes to the pugilistic arts, having boxed for most of his life and holding a purple belt in jujitsu.
“I need to say from the outset that I’m not disrespecting anybody. MMA is not rugby. The respect I have is enormous. I’m not doing this because I was a good rugby player,” he said.
“I’m quite humble in my approach to this.”
Howarth is also very comfortable getting Dalton into the octagon.
“We’re trying to get him to fight in the EFC. He’s got an amazing background as an athlete. He’s got all the skills and he knows how to get down and train for competition.”
Dalton has challenge former England flanker James Haskell, who recently started participating in MMA, to a celebrity bout.
Dalton, who released his autobiography late last year, has been in trouble recently.
Last September he was allegedly brawling with security guards in Sea Point, while in 2017 he was arrested for fleeing the scene of a car accident he was allegedly involved in.
For more sport your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.