Champ Dricus is the African king
CARNIVAL CITY: DA ROCHA STOPPED IN FIRST ROUND
De Lange not so lucky as he falls to Cummins early.
Dricus du Plessis left the hexagon at the Big Top Arena on Saturday night affirming his status as the best Mixed Martial Arts athlete on the African continent as he successfully defended his Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) welterweight title in emphatic style.
The South African executed his gameplan with pinpoint efficiency as he stopped the dangerous Brazilian Jose da Rocha with brutal ground and pound in the first round.
The title fight was a fitting climax to a night that fight fans at Carnival City will remember for some time.
England’s Joe Cummins was dominant in his bout with Shaun de Lange as he finished off the South African with a rear naked choke in round one.
The Birmingham-born fighter was quick to call out local journeyman Dino Baggatin for his next assignment.
The international contingent continued their impressive run on the night as young Frenchman Pilippe Rouch came out on top in what he described “as the toughest fight of his life” against Francois Groenewald.
Groenewald is renowned as a submission specialist, but was ultimately undone by the massive heart and slick ground game of the Frenchman, tapping to a triangle choke that dislocated Groenewald’s elbow deep into the third round.
There was nothing to separate the pair of Commonwealth athletes as local wrestler Pierre Botha and Welsh boxer Azi Thomas went the distance in what was rightfully called a majority draw.
The main card was opened by the DRC’s Alain Ilunga, who signalled a return to the brutality of his early career with a series of iver kicks to opponent Barend Nienaber and ultimately it was a spinning back kick to the throat that finished off Nienaber, knocking him out just before the buzzer at the end of the first round.
EFC moves to Durban for the 60th instalment next month as local hero Amanda Lino takes on Pretoria’s Jacqualine Trosee for the inaugural women’s flyweight title.