Madge takes Mazany’s title
– Local hero Don Madge (above) pulled off an upset when he regained the EFC Worldwide lightweight title at GrandWest Grand Arena on Saturday night.
Madge faced American Dave Mazany for his title. Mazany, based in Las Vegas at the home of one the world’s premiere fight teams, was undoubtedly the toughest test of Madge’s career.
Madge entered the Hexagon the betting underdog, but stunned everyone with ice-cold focus in the first round. He absorbed pressure from Mazany’s highly developed clinch against the fence, and then re-entered the same clinch in the second round. This time, however, he went on to take Mazany’s back and sink a solid rear naked choke.
Mazany refused to tap and instead sank unconscious to the canvas, gifting Madge the belt that he last held three years ago.
Supporting the main event was the clash between former bantamweight interim champion Irshaad Sayed and Tumisang Madiba. The fight went as many expected, but the delivery was far more brutal.
Madiba came out with all guns blazing, smashing Sayed with repeated strikes to the face and body, putting him under intense pressure in the first round. Sayed rode the storm through exchanges on the feet and down on the canvas, and then delivered a textbook, brutal hook to the liver, followed by a double tap left hook to the jaw that buckled Madiba’s knees.
Sayed immediately asked for another fight in June, stating: “I want to stay active and lay down another win. That way no one can deny my right to Pena in December. The White Tiger wants another shot at the champ.”
Former EFC heavyweight champion Ruan Potts strode into the Hexagon to face the UK’s colossal Karl Etherington. The canvas shook from the start, both men engaging with punches, moving into the clinch and an Etherington takedown. Potts reversed it on the floor, and then nailed his opponent’s head to the mat with piston-like elbows.
Sylvester Chipfumbu, riding a three-fight win streak, stepped up a level when he took on Abdul Hassan. He proved he had the ability to stand with the EFC legend by stifling Hassan’s takedown attempts with dangerous kicks from range and then landing a pistol shot of a straight right that dropped Hassan to the canvas.