King Cobra shows off in the main event

Zambian phenom Humphrey ‘King Cobra’ Mulenga continued making his fans proud when he defeated Cole ‘The Hitman’ Henning at the EFC Institute on November 9.

In a statement released by the EFC, media liaison officer, Cairo Howarth said: In a high-paced assault, Mulenga pushed forward relentlessly with flurries of strikes punctuated by overpowering clinch work, the latter of which ended with a knee to the chin of Henning who subsequently hit the canvas and had to be saved by the referee to prevent further damage from the follow-up blows. Mulenga now stakes his claim as one of the biggest lightweight talents in Africa with a title shot on his horizon next year.

After an evening of mixed martial arts and 13 action-packed fights, residents came out to show their support for their favourite fighters. A Fourways resident, Jabulile Twala, expressed how she went to the event for the main match. “I just wanted to see how King Cobra does it. He always has a way of making his opponents submit. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. I didn’t see it for a long time, but I could tell that the talent in that young man was exceptional,” she said. She elaborated on how she will always support the 21-year-old.

In a fight that was billed as a war for the ages; two EFC legends went toe-to-toe as Pietie Coxen and Dino Bagattin finally had a rematch after their bout, four years ago, ended in a controversial stoppage. “As if making up for lost time, both vets swung for the fences at a furious pace until the third round where their spent energy was evident as the power left their punches, yet it was Dino ‘The Lion’ Bagattin who took the judge’s decision, though Coxen could hold his head up high after coming into the fight as a late replacement,” said Howarth.

The crowd kept chanting ‘Pietie, Pietie, Pietie!’ Even with his loss, his fans didn’t stop supporting him. When he came to wave goodbye to the crowd, they kept chanting his name.

Official EFC 109 results:
Main Card

Lightweight fight
Humphrey Mulenga defeated Cole Henning via TKO due to strikes in round 1 (00:04:56)

Featherweight fight
Vince Bembe defeated Demba Seck via split decision after 3 rounds.

Middleweight fight
Jailson De Sousa defeated Khulekani Hlongwa via tap out due to arm triangle in round 3 (00:02:31)

Middleweight fight
Dino Bagattin defeated Pietie Coxen via unanimous decision after 3 rounds.

Welterweight fight
Zaakir Badat defeated Christopher Matukane via tap out due to triangle choke in round 1 (00:03:52)

Prelim Card

Lightweight fight
Sizwe Mnikathi defeated Adrian Sanchez via split decision after 3 rounds.

Flyweight fight
Edson Machavane defeated Godknows Ndlovu via tap out due to arm bar in round 1 (00:03:24)

Flyweight fight
Luke Hendrikz defeated Vincent Nakana via TKO due to strikes in round 1 (00:02:55)

Flyweight fight
Vuyo Jula defeated Johannes Rudolph via tap out due to inverted guillotine choke in round 1 (00:04:23)

Middleweight fight
Johan Pfahl defeated Jeremie Tshibala via tap out due to rear naked choke in round 1 (00:04:36)

Featherweight fight
David Mambo defeated Guide Moyo via knockout in round 2 (00:00:34)

Lightweight fight
Patrick Ocheme defeated Guelor Sondi via unanimous decision after 3 rounds.

Featherweight fight
Lucky Magekha defeated Allistar Kunene via unanimous decision after 3 rounds.

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