Springs fighters battle it out at EFC
Two incredible fights took place at EFC Africa 22 for Springs competitors.
The fights took place at Carnival City last Thursday night and were part of a 13 fight line up in the competition.
Cedric Doyle (28), of Rio Grappling, fought in his first ever EFC bout. His bout was the fifth fight of the night in the Bantamweight category. Entering the ring to shouts of support from the crowd, he faced his opponent, 23 year old Nkazimulo Zulu, nicknamed ‘Pit Bull’.
The fight started off in Cedric’s favour, with him pinning his opponent to the floor within the first 30 seconds. Cedric kept him there for the remainder of the round.
The start of round 2 saw Nkazimulo looking exhausted and people thought Cedric had the fight in the bag, as he managed to get his opponent down for the second time.
The crowd was split almost down the middle, with shouts for both opponents clearly heard in the arena. But in a split second, the fight was over.
Nkazimulo turned the odds and pinned Cedric, to end the fight in the second round at 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
“I dominated most of the fight, but when it is your first fight, you get an adrenaline rush. In the second round I got an adrenaline dump. But next year I will learn from this and hopefully get further in the competition,” said Cedric.
Cedric’s trainer, Raymond Phillips, said the fight was nerve wracking. “Cedric was one point up, but he was unable to get out of the triangle, which lost him the fight,” Raymond said.
He still believes Cedric is a strong contender for the title next year.
The highlight fight of the night, however, was JP Kruger (26), from Xtreme Kickboxing Technologies, fighting in the Middleweight category against 32 year old Tumelo Maphutha.
JP, nicknamed ‘Tinkerbell’, is the undefeated champion of this year’s EFC Africa, a fact that did not change in his latest fight. Entering the ring looking calm and ready, JP faced the toughness of Tumelo, who looked focused and ready to beat the champion.
The fight started slowly, with the two contestants circling each other and sizing each other up. Tumelo gave multiple kicks, which JP blocked with his left knee throughout the fight.Tumelo kept up his kicks, which eventually paid dividends, resulting in JP going to the floor.
Tumelo took advantage of this. The crowd, most of whom were supporting JP, gasped and shouted encouragement for him to get up, as the champion’s defeat seem imminent.
But without having to go into a second round, JP escaped the situation and reversed the odds, getting Tumelo’s arm locked in a fierce grip and forcing him to tap out in submission.
JP won the fight in 4 minutes and 19 seconds
“The Lord Jesus blessed me. Tumelo is a strong and aggressive fighter, but in the end, I got the job done and I want to thank all my coaches. They helped me with the ground work and that allowed me to come out and win the fight,” said JP.
Raymonmd, who is also JP’s trainer, said that it was a great win for the current champion. “JP was able to get Tumelo into an arm bar, which won him the fight. It was very well played.” he said. He added that Tumelo’s collar bone had been cracked during the match.
The EFC Africa 23 event will take place on Thursday, September 12, at the Carnival City Big Top Arena, where JP will yet again try to defend his title as an undeafeated champion.
