While his fight against Barend ‘BB Gun’ Niemand did not go his way, he is confident he will be back in winning form before his next fight.
The featherweight mixed martial arts fight, which saw Barend win by decision after the fight ran its full three rounds, was held at Carnival City.
Tumisang says that although he lost he is happy with his performance.
Having lost to Barend for the second time – the first being during his amateur career – Tumisang says: “I may have lost the fight but he succeeded in making it boring.
“I was initiating some action but he took me down, lay on top of me and got some strikes in, taking the win but making it a boring fight to watch when what the audience wants is excitement and action.”
He acknowledges that Barend came in with a good strategy which secured him the win.
Tumisang says that he initiated a standing fight, trading punches and landing some good blows but, with his strong wrestling skills, Barend got Tumisang down where he proceeded to kick him against the cage.
“Once he had me down he was a bit stronger and managed to keep me down, but I did manage to trade strikes with him standing and took some blows so I know I’ve got a chin on me,” he says.
Addressing his comment that the fight was boring, Tumisang explains that once Barend got him onto the mat, he managed to keep him there, kicking him into the cage for about three minutes which he says wasn’t that interesting to watch.
“I would have liked the ref to stand us up because striking is where the action is and it’s more exciting for the crowd.
“I’m sorry the fight wasn’t that entertaining.”
He says that he has taken this week off and will be back in training next week and hoping for his next fight soon.
“I am thankful to be able to compete and would like to thank my training partners for getting me into shape,” he says adding that he would like to acknowledge his sponsors for their support.
“The Springs business community is always there to support a Springs boy and I would like to give a huge thank you to Hennie du Preez of Vision Air Brakes, Lapace, RSV (Read, Swartman & Voigt (Pty) Ltd), Scenic Route Travels and XKT Pro League.”
James Read, Tumisang’s manager at XKT Pro League, says that he is happy with Tumisang’s performance.
“Win or lose, I am behind him all the way.
“That’s the nature of the game, you find out what’s wrong and fix it.”
Tumisang fights out of House of Tinkerbell under coach JP ‘Tinkerbell’ Kruger who was also pleased with his performance.
“I am proud of Tumi, he fought his heart out and got great strikes in.
“We didn’t get the win, it happens, the most important thing is to get back into the gym and fix what’s broken.”
