Professional fighter set for comeback
This mixed martial arts athlete, from Combat Coaching in Doonside, is gearing up for a rematch following his recent defeat.
DESPITE facing defeat at Extreme Fighting Championship’s (EFC) fight night, Tapiwa Katikati secured ‘fight of the night’ and is gearing up for a rematch.
After an intense eight-week training camp, the professional fighter went head-to-head with Cole Henning in the Lightweight Bout during EFC 104, in Johannesburg last month.
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His coach, Morné Swanepoel of Combat Coaching, said Katikati’s training situation is unique as he lives far away from the gym.
“He comes in for training once a week, and during an eight-week camp, he’ll come in twice a week. The rest of the time, he has to self-train and follow a strict programme,” he said.
On the night of the fight, Katikati went into the ring as the favourite with commentators expecting it to be a one-round fight.
“He is an emotional fighter, and when he gets hit, his emotions go wild. Sometimes, this works in his favour and other times not. For this fight, we worked on his emotions, and he followed his game plan effortlessly. However, by the third round, he switched up his game plan due to an injured foot from all the kicks. This ultimately lead to Henning having the upper hand and ultimately winning the fight,” said Swanepoel.
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Despite the loss, their fight won ‘fight of the night’ as both fighters gave it their all and ignited the crowd throughout all three rounds.
“He was feeling very unmotivated before receiving that acknowledgement. We are now in talks for a rematch. It was a top-ranked fight which will get us closer to a title fight,” added Swanepoel.
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