DAVID Verster, coach of Lions Den SA mixed martial arts studio and his pupil, Andrew Caruth, are all set to fight for the top titles in their divisions at the MFC 80 event being held at the Greyville events arena on 29 November.
Verster will defend his MFC South African Pro-am lightweight title, while Caruth will be challenging for the MFC South African featherweight title.
Caruth, who does both Brazilian jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts, won his division in the prelims to the KZN champs for grappling. He started martial arts at a young age, but took a big break before getting back into the sport five years ago.
As a youngster, Verster did wrestling, Judo and boxing and by the age of 14 was SA champ. At 20, he turned professional.
“I retired from pro-boxing after five professional fights and continued to do traditional jiu jitsu, gaining my black belt. I became a personal trainer, gaining further experience in all aspects of weight and cardio-type training.”
One of his highlights was winning the Abu Dhabi 2009 Jiu Jitsu Championships and the SA Grappling Championship in 2012 and 2013.
