Title fest for Toti MMA fighters
Morne attributes the club's ongoing success to training really hard.
Team Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters returned from this weekend’s South African Championships at the Brakpan Indoor Sports Centre in Johannesburg with an incredible 10 titles under their belts.
These included:
- Dylan Swanepoel U16 MMA U55kg;U16 Brazilian JiuJitsu (BJJ) U55kg; and U16 submission wrestling U55kg;
- Bradley Swanepoel U18 MMA U61kg and U18 submission wrestling U61kg;
- Tash Santillal U18 MMA U66kg; and U18 submission wrestling U66kg;
- Craig Ninow senior U61kg BJJ and senior U61kg submission wrestling;
- Nelson Feiteira senior U66kg submission wrestling.
Coach, Morne Swanepoel was understandably over the moon.
“I’m super proud of the results. The team trains really hard twice a day for up to five hours a day. It was a tiring trip to Johannesburg, doing the weigh-ins and fighting the next day. Every one on the team outdid themselves, not just in their performance, but also with their good sportsmanship and the way they carried themselves on and off the mats.
I was expecting good results, as we have been training really hard. But to come home with 10 SA titles, the most of all the gyms or associations countrywide was just amazing. None of the results really surprised me. It’s just such an achievement for those who won more than one SA title, as they had to fight several opponents throughout the whole weekend.”
The titles though that would have given Morne an extra burst of pride would have been the five SA titles shared by his sons, Dylan and Bradley. “My boys are my life. They have been training since they were four-years-old and have such a passion and understanding of the fighting arts. I’m truly blessed with my boys, as they a true ambassadors for the sport and classical examples of what true martial artists should be.”
Morne attributes the club’s ongoing success to training really hard. “Every day we grind from 5am until 9pm. Besides the hard work every one puts in, we are a family, a team and a brotherhood which makes a huge difference in your performance and your commitment.”
MMA fans can look forward to an amateur grassroots tournament taking place at Ushaka where some first time Toti fighters will be in action. “We have a big event coming up with three of our top pro fighters, Nelson Feiteira, Craig Ninow and Cameron Meintjes will be in action at EFC Africa on Saturday, 4 April at the Durban ICC.”
