Facing the betting favourite, England’s Stuart Austin, Dalcha was very nearly finished in the first round after Austin dismantled him with a takedown, top control, and hard ground and pound.
Going into the second with a battered face and up against seemingly insurmountable odds, Dalcha smashed Austin to the canvas with a massive takedown, and bloodied the Englishman with ground and pound of his own, forcing the referee to call it off.
A heaving Carnival City Big Top Arena was on its feet screaming and cheering a man who has truly owned his moniker of ‘Champion’, flying the flag of the African continent high against a gifted opponent.
Austin, who was totally dismissive of Dalcha in the build-up, will be heading back to London licking his wounds and ruing his blind confidence.
In the penultimate fight of the evening, local hero Boyd Allen returned after a year’s absence to roars of appreciation. He did not disappoint.
Over three rounds he dismantled Scotland’s Calum Murrie, a man who had spoken extremely confidently of a win while Allen had said little in the lead-up.
Murrie gave it his all to entice Allen onto the ground and escape his clinical strikes, but Allen would not relent and continued to pick the Scotsman apart, reducing his face to a swollen mess.
Allen is most definitely back and almost certainly in line for a title shot against former teammate Igeu Kabesa.
‘Slick’ and ‘clinical’ were the hallmarks of the unforgettable battle between South Africa’s Deon Bruning and England’s Gavin Hughes.
Bruning began with an effortless display of high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu, punishing Hughes with fluid transitions and constant pressure.
The momentum shifted in the second as Hughes delivered accomplished striking, tagging Bruning multiple times but failing to make a dent in the Capetonian’s granite chin.
The third round showed Bruning to be carrying a nagging knee injury, and one must wonder if it was a factor in his loss of form in the second.
Hughes continued to dominate, ultimately taking a unanimous decision on the back of an accomplished fight.
Johannesburg’s ‘Little Giant’, Bokang Masunyane, slayed his flyweight opponent, Brazil’s Magno Alves, with a devastating display of all-round MMA.
In the first round Masunyane dropped the Brazilian multiple times with strikes, in the second he switched to wrestling mode and dominated the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with top control, and in the third he let the fire rain down.
Opening up with what can only be described as a ‘spinning back cartwheel kick’ that had commentator Cyrus Fees screaming ‘Crouching Tiger, hidden Bokang’, Masunyane added a flying knee, multiple knockdowns and a swarm of ground and pound to earn an emphatic win and add another chapter to his growing legend.
Now at 4-0, it seems the only question remaining is when the ‘Little Giant’ will book a flyweight title shot.
The heavyweight battle between Elvis Moyo (Zimbabwe) and late replacement Nico Yamdje (Cameroon) opened the evening’s main card.
After his loss to Austin at EFC 61, Moyo proceeded with extreme caution, settling behind an intermittent jab that ultimately scored enough to take the fight on points.
Taking his wrestling pedigree into account, as well as Moyo’s inability to handle Austin on the ground, one has to wonder why Yamdje didn’t attempt to fight to his strengths and take the ‘Bulawayo Bomber’ down.
Performance bonuses were awarded to Masunyane, Alves, Hughes and Bruning.
Additional bonuses were awarded to Wade Kerspuy, Francois Cundari, Luke Michael and Dalcha. Fight of the Night was awarded to the catch-weight clash between Oumpie Sebeko and Faeez Jacobs.
The official EFC 65 results are:
• Guy Mongambi defeated Wade Kerspuy via TKO (punches) 4:27 in round three.
• Francois Cundari defeated Serge Kasanda via submission (triangle) 0:34 in round one.
• Faeez Jacobs defeated Oumpie Sebeko via TKO (punches) 4:14 in round two.
• Luke Michael defeated Rodrique Kena via submission (triangle) 2:56 in round one.
• Pierre Botha defeated Sibusiso Mdoko via unanimous decision.
• Regis Muyambo defeated Sindile Manengela via split decision.
• Elvis Moyo defeated Nico Yamdjie via split decision.
• Bokang Masunyane defeated Magno Alves via unanimous decision.
• Gavin Hughes defeated Deon Bruning via unanimous decision.
• Boyd Allen defeated Calum Murrie via unanimous decision.
• Champion Dalcha defeated Stuart Austin via TKO (punches) 1:48 in round two.
Also read: Win tickets to EFC 63
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