The camp of Henry Fadipe has confirmed to EFC, that due to his ongoing passport and South African visa struggles, he will not be able to travel from Ireland to South Africa by May 13 and is forced to step out of the title fight against the champion, Dricus du Plessis.
Brazil’s Jose da Rocha has stepped in to take on the massive task of meeting du Plessis at EFC 59 at Carnival City’s Big Top Arena on Saturday.
This is not the first time that the former EFC champion has succumbed to these unfortunate travel circumstances, but, after Fadipe was able to make it to South Africa again and competed in Sun City late last year, he was convinced that he would be able to make it now.
Unfortunately though, it was not to be.
The champion is now set to defend against an opponent of calibre, who he has never faced before. Making the trip to South Africa for the first time is the incredibly dangerous Brazilian with a battle-hardened past.
Da Rocha is Brazil’s Limo Fight middleweight champion.
He has won the state and national Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai championships at various levels and enters EFC with seven international MMA victories to his name.
He trains at the famed Bulldog Gym in Brazil alongside former UFC contender Bethe Correia and reigning featherweight Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull.
The majority of his MMA wins have come by way of submission, but it is clear that he has exceptional striking and he is looking forward to showcasing his skill set on a massive international platform.
The action-filled fight card is headlined by the welterweight championship bout between South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis and Brazil’s Jose da Rocha and sees four more top South Africans take on some of the world’s best and features a host of other exciting bouts.
• Main card line-up: Du Plessis (RSA) vs da Rocha (Brazil), de Lange (RSA) vs Cummins (England), Groenewald (RSA) vs Rouch (France), Thomas (Wales) versus Botha (RSA), Ilunga (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) vs Nienaber (RSA).
• Preliminary card: N du Plessis (RSA) vs Mukulu (DRC), Misholas (DRC) versus Mndebela (RSA), Kanyeba (DRC) vs Simbowe (Zambia), Seabi (RSA) vs Kabanda (DRC), Khusu (RSA) vs Mongambi (DRC), Yamdjie (Cameroon) versus Mikixi (DRC) Simoes (Angola) versus Kanyinda (DRC).
Tickets are available at www.computicket.com
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