EFC flyweight and bantamweight champion Nkazimulo ‘King Shaka’ Zulu training at the CIT Performance Institute gym in Pretoria this week as he prepares to fight in an international tournament and add another title to his name. Pictures: Michel Bega
The current flyweight and bantamweight titleholder in the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC), Nkazimulo Simanga Zulu, aka King Shaka Zulu, is going for gold.
He’s preparing to fight in an international tournament and is hoping to add another title to his name.
“My fighting nickname comes from my last name, Zulu.
“My first names were too difficult to pronounce, so everyone started calling me ‘Zulu Boy’.”
Now “King Shaka Zulu” is his fighting name.
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“I am Zulu, I speak Zulu and grew up in KwaZulu-Natal in a small town called Newcastle.
“That’s where my father’s castle is. I am from the Zulu royal family. My grandfather, Lawrence ZuluKamtsheni KaShingana kaMpande, is the brother of King Cetshwayo,” he says.
Zulu’s career as a fighter kicked off at the age of six.
He says growing up, he looked after cows and that seeing a car was an odd sight for him.
“From a young age, my mother sent me to karate class to learn how to defend myself. In rural areas, we had many fights at the river after school, so I started doing karate when I began school.”
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Zulu says he remembers how nervous he was for his first competitive fight.
“I was aching and crying on the inside, but then I won the fight. I realised it was possible to win. I also won my second fight and started wondering if fighting was my thing.
“I started falling in love with the art of fighting. Every time I competed in a fight, I won, so I just enjoyed it more and more and kept winning,” he laughs.
After Zulu matriculated in 2008, he moved to Johannesburg to attend college to study metallurgy.
“It’s the study of metals and minerals. I liked science a lot but when I got to Johannesburg, my applications were incorrect because my name, student number and year of birth were incorrect.”
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Speaking of metallurgy, he says his favourite metal is gold.
“Who doesn’t like gold?” he asks with a laugh.
Zulu then looked for a job and joined a gym where he was introduced to kickboxing and Muay Thai, a martial art developed in Thailand.
“Again, I fell in love and found myself in mixed martial arts (MMA).”
Zulu remembers seeing local MMA fighter Demarte Pena and thinking that he could beat him.
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“I got kicked out of kickboxing for kicking another fighter’s ass and taking his shorts.
“I didn’t have shorts to train in, so I decided to fight a guy for his shorts and they kicked me out.” At the time, Zulu did not know his opponent was the top ranked kickboxer in the world.
“It was pure stupidity because he was very talented and could have kicked my ass,” he laughs.
Zulu says his MMA career started taking off under coach Morne Visser from the CIT Performance Institute gym in Pretoria.
“In less than two years with my coach, I am now a double champion – a flyweight and bantamweight – in EFC. Morne is a very good coach and got me signed for a big promotion in Japan. He helped me with sponsors so that I can focus on my MMA career full time,” he says.
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Zulu is preparing for his upcoming fight in Japan on 27 September.
“I have been fighting for quite some time so I am not nervous.
“I am preparing now and we are busy with a fight camp. This is the big league,” he adds.
Zulu also had to quit his job as a car salesman to focus on preparing for the fight.
“All we are doing now is train, sleep, eat, train, sleep, eat and repeat,” he laughs.
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When Zulu is not focusing on lean eating, he spoils himself with spaghetti Bolognese and pizza.
“I am a homebody and an introvert. I am happiest at home keeping to myself and resting,” he says.
Zulu says he enjoys relaxing to deep house, reggae and jazz to keep him focused on his goals.
He’s on a strict training schedule in preparation for the fight.
It started with one training session a day in the first week, two training sessions daily in the second week and three training sessions daily in the third week.
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This increases as time draws near for the big fight.
“I love the sport.
“When I am in the cage, I feel free and alive and feel like I can do anything I want,” he adds.
Zulu says his ultimate dream is to make it to the international Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
And the humble fighter is totally dedicated to this dream.
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“Never give up,” he says.
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