Started from the bottom now he’s here
Logan Green, sports journalist, writes:
One thing that I really love about the work that I do is the incredible opportunity I get to see the evolution of an athlete.
To see a person start from humble amateur beginnings and rise to the extreme pinnacle of professional sporting success is one of the greatest pleasures that I can experience as a sports reporter.
When I first got things going on the sporting front for the Benoni City Times/Brakpan Herald in 2013 I interviewed a 17-year-old wrestler at Brakpan Wrestling Club who was completely dominating his opposition on the mat.
He had only started competing in the sport about two years before this meeting and already he was the talk of the wrestling fraternity for his stand-out performances.
At that particular interview I recall a reserved young man with not that much to say.
Fast-forward to July 2015 and that very same quiet lad is now a confident, upbeat, straight-shooting talker who is soon to make his professional debut in the EFC 41 hexagon at Carnival City’s Big Top Arena.
He is JP Buys and I firmly believe that he is going to fast become a dominant force in the fastest growing sport in the country.
I remember some friends of mine, who are ardent mixed martial arts (MMA) fans, telling me about a young fighter they had seen at an amateur fighting event who had ended a fight within 11 seconds.
Before they could even say his name I knew it already – it was JP Buys.
The exciting MMA prospect will face Namibian fighter Josemar “Black Ninja” Octavio in the lightweight division bout at EFC 41 on July 11 and he is, in my eyes, the outright favourite and worth a cheeky little bet.
Buys spends his days training at the renowned Fight Fit Militia (FFM) gym with the most dominant bantamweight fighter in EFC history and current champ Demarte “The Wolf” Pena whose fight against Cedric “The Dominator” Doyle tops the EFC 41 fight card.
With Pena as his mentor expect the young protégé to remain unfazed by the bright lights and screaming crowds of the Big Top Arena.
One thing is dead certain though: There is still plenty to be written about in the journey of JP Buys with a new chapter starting on July 11.
LG
