EFC 37 delivers all the goods
Leon Mynhardt and Don Madge came to a quick end to EFC’s longest running rivalry by disposing of Madge by way of a guillotine in the first round.
THIS year is set to be another trailblazing year for EFC, and the organisation kicked off the year with an electrifying night of action. In what will be remembered as one of the most hyped cards in recent memory.
EFC 37 took place on Saturday February 21 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Big Top Arean, Carnival City.
The main bout saw the grudge fight between Leon Mynhardt and Don Madge come to a quick end to EFC’s longest running rivalry by disposing of Madge by way of a guillotine in the first round of their lightweight title fight. Mynhardt has now retained his belt on three successive occasions, and has firmly stamped his authority on the lightweight division.
The highly anticipated welterweight title fight between Adam Speechly and David Buirski co-headlined the event. Speechly, a two-time champion in the welterweight division, was determined to be the one to finally end the infamous welterweight curse and retain his title. It was not to be, as Buirski executed a perfect game plan and nullified all of Speechly’s advances. Eventually cornering the champion against the fence, Buirski scored a stunning TKO to become the new welterweight champion.
EFC 37 also saw the return of South African MMA legend Darren Daniel to the Hexagon. He faced the youthful exuberance of Dricus du Plessis in a short but action-filled battle. Daniel started well, despite an early guillotine scare in the round, taking control of the early exchanges until the latter parts of the first round. Du Plessis had other plans though, and after a masterful sweep from the bottom, managed to sink in a rear naked choke that left Daniel with no option but to tap.
In a three round war of attrition, Matt Buirski displayed his improved wrestling and experience to dominate the confident Tumisang Madiba in the first two rounds. Madiba, coming into the fight on a three-fight winning streak, attempted a late comeback which proved too little too late. Buirski was awarded the win via unanimous judge’s decision.
In the opening bout on the main card, lightweight prospect Themba Gorimbo took on EFC stalwart Alex Cheboub. Gorimbo came out aggressively from the onset, while Cheboub seemed sluggish and out of sorts. Gorimbo earned himself a slick guillotine submission early in the first round, taking his professional MMA record to 5-0, with a shot at Mynhardt surely not far away now.
On the preliminary card, fans saw history being made as Hungarian ZitaVarju and South African Danella Eliasov opened the EFC women’s flyweight division. Varju came out aggressive and stunned Eliasov with a few shots. However, Eliasov quickly reverted to her background in Brazilian JiuJitsu and took Varju to the ground. Eliasov ground her way into a mounted position, where she attempted an arm bar but was unable to get the submission. Using her dominant position, Eliasov managed a flurry of hammer fists on the Hungarian, forcing the referee to call a stop and award the South African a TKO victory.
Fight of the Night was awarded to heavyweights Cyril Asker and Ricky Misholas for their three-round war. Knockout of the Night went to David Buirski for his KO of Adam Speechly. Submission of the Night went to ThembaGorimbo for his submission of Alex Cheboub. Performance bonuses were handed out to ZitaVarju, Danella Eliasov, Dricus du Plessis and Darren Daniel for their exceptional performances.
