Saayman claims MMA title
Fans pack in to Heinz Betz Hall for first Gods of War tournament
GODS of War Gym fighter Johan Saayman raised the roof of a packed Heinz Betz Hall in Port Elizabeth as he claimed a convincing victory over Fitness Factory PE fighter Francioa van der Bergh at the weekend. In the main event at the inaugural Gods of War PE tournament, Saayman won by a unanimous decision after the pair traded hefty blows throughout their three rounds of competition on Saturday evening.
“Being my first win, it’s still sinking in. But he was a worthy opponent. He can take a punch and he can throw a few as well.
“I stuck to most of the game plan. I wanted to do most of it standing up and then try to work him to the ground,” Saayman said.
Van der Bergh also thanked his coaches for all their hard work preparing him for his first fight.
Port Elizabeth Submission Fighting Academy athletes Cedric Mbala and Shane Higgins hailed the awesome team spirit and coaching ethos as the pair claimed unanimous decision wins in their respective fights.
Higgins and Mbala, who are trained by professional mixed martial artist Chris Bright, managed to claim victories in their respective weight divisions.
Originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mbala, fighting out of the Port Elizabeth-based gym, squared up against visiting fighter and fellow countryman Awuzza Dix Anz (PFC Gym Cape Town) for the distance in their welterweight fight.
“I’m feeling great. Everything is perfect. My coach always tells me I’m a good fighter and I must just let my hands go.
“I know my opponent from back home [in the DRC]. I know his fighting style so I was prepared for anything he wanted to throw at me,” a smiling Mbala said.
Taking on another Cape Town fighter, Ghalid Small, from Takedown Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness Academy, Higgins fought a tough lightweight battle to take the win.
“My body’s feeling great,” Higgins said afterwards.
“I have a bit of a bump on my foot and that’s about it.”
Going head to head for the first time, Higgins admitted Small was quite strong and at times prevented him from executing parts of his game plan.
“He had some strong legs. He sweated quite a bit, so I could not get in some of my hooks,” Higgins said.
In the first fight of the evening, a middleweight clash saw Marius Minnie, from Fitness Factory, claim a third-round submission victory over Siyamthanda Ndongwana, from Gods of War Gym.
Another Gods of War fighter, Paul Kemp, lost via a third-round submission to Adrian Matthews, from Cape Fight League in Saldanha Bay, in their lightweight fight.
Sedwick Carulas, also from Cape Fight League, made light work of opponent Donovan Kemp (Fitness Factory) to claim their bantamweight fight via knockout in round one.
Fitness Factory fighter Dereez Arends claimed a second round submission victory over Rasdeen Booysen (Cape Fight League) in their flyweight clash.
Event director Martin Marx was taken aback by the turnout for the event, saying he had had to increase capacity on the night to accommodate additional spectators.
“Only 400 tickets were initially printed, but we made provision on the day to accommodate the extra influx of fans, and we even had to turn some away.”
Marx said more events were planned for later this year, possibly the end of July, with Gods of War II.
Part three is being planned for late September.