Gunther ‘The Beast’ Kalunda wins mixed martial arts fight for Africa
NORTHCLIFF – Swart said it was certainly a win for Africa, not just for South Africa or even their academy.
TapOut Mixed Martial Arts Academy is celebrating a world title win at a recent Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) Worldwide mixed martial arts tournament.
After five gruelling five-minute rounds at Sun City, the Northcliff academy’s Gunther ‘The Beast’ Kalunda was crowned interim EFC worldwide welterweight champion, beating Brazil’s Jose Da Rocha by unanimous decision.
Kalunda, who is a former African judo champion and holds a judo black belt, has studied Brazilian jiu-jitsu – one of the key components of MMA – under coach Wiekus Swart for the past three years.
Facing a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai champion in Da Rocha, Kalunda was rated as the underdog for the bout.
However, due to training under one of Africa’s foremost Brazilan jiu-jitsu coaches, building an extreme level of fitness and training for more than four hours per day, Kalunda’s hard work paid off.
The crowd that came to support Kalunda included close to 100 supporters from his home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“Even though I am from DRC, I have fought this fight for Africa and I hope that I have made our continent proud,” Kalunda said afterwards.
Swart said it was certainly a win for Africa, not just for South Africa or even their academy.
“Even though TapOut is predominantly a recreational gym helping students to get fit and empower themselves through martial arts, our strategy for our professional fighters and the game plans we adopt when preparing for a tournament have paid off time and time again,” he added.
At the same tournament, another one of TapOut’s up-and-coming professional fighters, Steven ‘Guts’ Goncalves, also saw victory over his opponent Sizwe Mnikathi.
Goncalves won through a rear naked choke submission, 40 seconds into the first round.
Details: TapOut Mixed Martial Arts Academy Wiekus@tapoutacademy.co.za
