Buys vows to bounce back

He lost to Durbanite Baldwin Mdlalose, via a rear-naked choke, three minutes and 29 seconds into round one, at EFC 43 in Durban, on Thursday, August 27.

The 19-year-old’s flyweight fight, at the Durban International Convention Centre, did not quite go to plan for the fighter, who was oozing confidence ahead of his second professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bout.

Speaking to the City Times on Monday, August 31, Buys vowed to come back even stronger in the future.

When asked what he thought went wrong in Durban, he replied: “My coach always says ‘position over submission’.

“I had a dominant position and left it all to fall onto my back.

“If you look at it, I was definitely winning the fight up until that point, but the result did not work out for me on the night.”

Asked what he had learned from the defeat, the former wrestling champion said: “You never really lose, you win or you learn.

“I have learned that I must always fight the way I want to fight and deal with any immediate threat first.

“I have also realised what great people, supporters and sponsors I have backing me up.

“I am heading straight back into the gym to improve and jump back into the hexagon as soon as possible.”

His opponent was 2.9kg overweight, but Buys doesn’t think that played to Mdlalose’s advantage.

“He was definitely bigger on the night, but I train with bigger and heavier guys every day,” he said.

The youngster is hoping to get another fight in October.