Dino “The Lion” Bagattin claimed the welterweight titles after a five-round bout that will long be remembered by EFC fans.
The heavyweight championship pitted reigning heavyweight champion Andrew “One Gear” van Zyl against kickboxing champion Sors “Guru” Grobbelaar.
Grobbelaar was always the underdog in the fight and his opponent’s ground game proved to be a stretch too far for him.
Although the Guru had a flurry of strikes at the beginning of the second round that shook the champion, van Zyl’s all round game was simply too good.
He took Grobbelaar’s back and battered him into submission with ground and pound strikes.
Grobelaar lives in George and trains with Nantas Grobbelaar at Two Brothers Combat Institute.
He is affiliated to Shihan Raymond Phillips’s Brakpan-based Xtreme Kickboxing Technologies (XKT) gym.
Speaking about the fight, Phillips said: “Sors nearly knocked his opponent down, but made a few errors that allowed Andrew to bring him down to the ground.
“He got a bit overexcited and I think that was his downfall.
“He is a tough boy and I am sure that he will come back strong.”
Another fighter who has trained with Phillips is Francois “Franaconda” Groenewald.
Groenewald defeated Craig Ninow via submission 3:50 into round three.
Phillips commented on this fight, saying: “According to me, Francois was ahead on points from the very first round and had a nice submission in the third round.
“As coaches we were glad that we decided to get him into a lower weight division as we feel that he will have a better shot at the title.
“I am very proud of him, as this is an important victory for him.”
Other results from EFC Africa 23 are:
n Nelson Feiteira defeated Anicet Kanyeba via submission (heel hook), 3:50 into round one.
n Pierre Botha defeated Baldwin Mdlalose via submission (arm triangle), 3:44 into round two.
n Dricus du Plessis defeated Bruno Mukulu via submission (RNC) 2:34 into round one.
n Hanru Botha defeated Peter Nyide via unanimous decision.
n Brendan Groenewald defeated Roelof Scheepers via submission (RNC), 4:10 into round one.
n Sibusiso Mdoku defeated Johan van Staden via submission (RNC), 1:01 into round three.
n Alexander Cheboub defeated Kalil Akleker via unanimous decision.
n Vandam Mbuyi defeated Wilhelm Strauss via KO, 0:28 into round one.
n Henry Fadipe defeated Martin van Staden via submission (ankle lock), 2:18 into round one.
n Boyd Allen defeated Wesley Hawkey by submission, 1:59 into round one.
n Dino Bagattin defeated Michiel Opperman via unanimous decision, becoming the new EFC AFRICA welterweight champion.
