EFC will host its landmark 50th event at the ultimate destination of Sun City on Friday, June 17. EFC announced that Pretoria’s Dricus ‘Stillknocks’ du Plessis would face Johannesburg’s Martin ‘The Punisher’ van Staden for the vacant EFC welterweight championship but details of further bouts were unclear.
Speculation as to who would feature on the historic bill was rife, but that was only until the EFC 49 press conference took place and EFC president Cairo Howarth revealed all.
In one bombshell announcement Howarth said, “We got Michiel Opperman vs. Rafal Haratyk, Shana Power vs. Micol Di Segni, Chad Hanekom vs.Cian Erraught, Ruan Potts vs. Vandam Mbuyi, Elvis Moyo vs. Ricky Misholas and there are some more to come. It is going to be a killer card on June 17.”
Michiel Opperman is the former welterweight champion and a middleweight contender, having fought for the title last year in a five-round war against Liam Cleland. ‘The Dark Horse’ is renowned for the epic battles that he has brought fans in the past. His Polish opponent, Rafal ‘The Polish Tank’ Haratyk is undefeated in the EFC. With back-to-back first-round submission victories, and a middleweight title shot previously promised to him, Haratyk could well be ‘The Dark-Horse’s’ biggest threat.
Both South Africa’s Shana ‘Titanium’ Power and Italy’s Micol Di Segni made big impacts on fans with their respective victories on their debuts. Power TKO’d Kirsty Davis with a devastating spinning back-fist and Di Segni controlled South Africa’s Eliasov for three rounds with her superior striking and wrestling. Now fans will get to see two of the best female flyweights go toe-to-toe for the number one contender spot.
Ruan ‘Fangzz’ Potts, the former EFC heavyweight champion and a former UFC heavyweight is back in the biggest and baddest division in the organisation, but standing in his way is the giant and dangerous, Vandam Mbuyi. With his cannon-like heavy hands, the DRC-born natural heavyweight will be looking to topple the MMA icon and head straight to the top.
Set to open the historic EFC 50 main event in a massive light heavyweight battle is a bout between South Africa’s Chad ‘Superman’ Hanekom and Ireland’s Cian ‘Kong’ Erraught. Hanekom, who notably trains with the polarising EFC champion Norman Wessels will face ‘Kong’, a training partner to the notorious UFC champion Conor McGregor. Both are former rugby players who moved to MMA and both are undefeated in their professional careers.
The Zimbabwean Bomber, Elvis Moyo takes on DRC’s Ricky ‘Apocalypse’ Misholas in the headlining prelim bout. These are, undoubtedly, two of the biggest punchers in the heavyweight division.
Credit: EFC
