On 5 March, Klerksdorp wrestling hall turned into a war zone.
The first sanctioned event in the province presented fight fans with a cornucopia of exciting contests. Fighters from as far as Durban travelled to the dusty mining town to compete in this event. It was so well attended that the organiser, Tiaan Swart promised that Fight Night would be a regular event on the MMA calendar. He aims to also bring the event to other towns, including Potchefstroom.
The interest in Fight Night shows that, as a province, we have been starved of quality MMA action. Even while EFC was being broadcast live on SuperSport, people flocked to the wrestling hall to support their local fighters.
Apart from the crowds that came to watch the wars in the cage, many sponsors got onboard to make the night possible. Whey protein water, a new product being marketed in the province was on hand to supply the water to fighters and fitness fanatics in the crowd. Various other local sponsors also got onboard including Martin’s funeral, Nissan NTT, Pro Welding, Theron, Jordaan and Smit, Fitness Zone, Red, Pretzels pub and North Reef steel and pipe.
Two of the best fights of the evening must have been Carl “The Butcher” Elliot vs Gerrie Bogos. The Butcher, from Oly
The other fight was a catchweight, which saw August Hennsa go up against Markus “The Widowmaker” Olivier. From the get-go, there were bad intentions from both. Even at the staredowns earlier in the afternoon, the atmosphere was tense. Hennsa landed a perfectly timed kick which sent Olivier to the canvas. He then landed two bone-crunching punches in quick succession before the ref jumped in to stop the fight. Hennsa had to be restrained by his teammates after the referee stopped the fight. The big man came to Klerksdorp to do a job and settle a score which he did with Teutonic efficiency.
I was impressed by the professional way in which the event was handled. Swart and his team are on par with other amateur events organisers that have been around for much longer. If the quality of the match-ups stays consistent, this is going to be one of the biggest on the calendar. I can’t wait to see some of our own Potch boys in action.
Check out the gallery for all the action of the night as well as the preceding light contact competition.
