POLOKWANE – “Having my family and supporters wherever I fight is just as uplifting for me as fighting on my home turf as I will fight to the best of my abilities to make them proud.”
Roedie Roets proved this statement when he bagged gold in Cape Town the weekend during the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) 68 lightweight match.
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Roedie faced off against Zimbabwean-born Regis Muyambo and won by unanimous decision.
Regis, who resides in Cape Town, faced the Polokwane-based Roets in a three-round match-up which thoroughly tested both fighters.
The undefeated Roets entered the ring with a 100% finish rate in professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and as a world-renown wrestler who represented his nation on the international stage.
Living in Polokwane, Roets trains and fights out of the well-known Fight Fit Militia in Sunninghill, Johannesburg.
He made his EFC debut in Durban last year as a professional fighter after he became the amateur MMA champion.
He has won each of his 10 amateur fights. Among his achievements is a gold medal and world title which he won during the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) international fight in Las Vegas America in 2016, returning home set for a meteoric rise to the top of the MMA chain.
Roets grew up as a wrestler but soon discovered his passion for mixed martial arts.
“When my father returned from a tour in America, he told me about the sport, with us both falling in love with it almost immediately.”
Asked about his strategy when going into a fight, Roets said he doesn’t really plan ahead, he prefers to read the match as it goes.
He got his nickname, Relentless Roets, after he toured America during which he saw a message which read “Enter this room with a relentless sense of urgency” and the message stuck with him.
“I would like to see the sport grow in Limpopo and South Africa with more people getting involved in its development.”
Having a home advantage, he believes, is good for fighting but he doesn’t let this keep him from doing his best as his supporters and family make anywhere feel like home. He ascribes his victories to his family’s continued support. Without them these wins will be meaningless.
