And Now Undisputed Champion.

With the start of EFC 116, EFC fight fans were officially into the second half of the ‘fight year’. With five fight cards completed, consisting of 63 bouts between 94 fighters, the year was off to a decent start.

The question on this writer’s mind was, would the EFC 116 card live up to the hype and as such, deliver on the many promises from both the promoter and the athletes?

The Prelim card, as we have come to expect it from the EFC, was littered with young prospects who delivered some bonus-worthy performances – Alistar Kunene (submission), Kelvin Smit (submission), Andile Madlala (KO) and Lihle Ngamntwini (UD) – with all but one of the prelim bouts ending with a finish! Special mention must go to Andile Madlala following on his fastest knockout ever recorded in the EFC Light Heavyweight division, dispatching Tico van den Berg in only 19 seconds. This extraordinary feat cements Madlala’s place in the annals of the EFC history books.

The first three bouts of the main card followed the prelim script with Nathanial Komana, Sibusiso Sovendle and Shadrack Nsua all registering TKO finishes, and in so doing, elevating all three fighters back to winning ways. What is interesting to note is the fact that the winner of the the Nsua v Hlongwa bout was already guaranteed a shot at the winner of the EFC 116 main event. The reason it is interesting is that prior to this bout, both fighters had suffered a loss which makes this writer question the depth of the middleweight division within the EFC. A point made harder to ignore by the matchmaking of the main event!

The co-main event was an ABSOLUTE cracker of a fight and rightfully deserved FOTN honours! The late notice acceptance by the undefeated Ken Sekeletu (4-0) to face the undefeated Jean-Jacques Lubaya (9-0) meant that this catchweight bout would result in one fighter tasting defeat for the first time in either of their professional careers. Despite the visible impact of Lubaya’s powerful leg kicks and a jab that blurred his vision for a short time, it was the crisp striking and deft movement from Sekeletu that secured his victory along with an untarnished record of 5-0. He will however need to wait his turn (quite possibly until early 2025) before getting a shot at the Igeu Kabesa’s strap, as Kabesa should face Ayanda Zwane – winner of the EFC Featherweight Grand Prix – towards the end of this year.

The main event was a case of ‘third time lucky’ for Luke Michael who dominated four of the five rounds on the ground as he dispatched of the challenge from Jaco du Plessis – who has now tasted defeat for only the first time in his entire MMA career! Despite the dubious matchmaking – with Du Plessis returning to a title shot after almost 18 months away from the cage and no notable wins notched up on his belt, and Michael having lost the belt at his first title defense earlier this year – this win was without controversy and contrary to Michael’s own belief at the weighins, was certainly not ‘easy money’! Michael survived an helacious third round where it seemed to many that the referee was mere moments away from stopping the bout due to the mutiple ground strikes from Du Plessis. Despite that damaging round, Michael showed real ‘dawg’ and smothered Du Plessis in the championship rounds to remove any doubt. Here’s hoping that this win will remove the enormous chip on the shoulder of Michael and instill a modicum of humility in the now undisputed champ. He now faces the prospect of his first legitimate title defense against the more charismatic and physically imposing Shadrack Nsua and should bury any thoughts of double champ status until he has defended his middleweight strap a few times…..although with friends like World Sports Betting Group CEO Warren Tannous, this is unlikely to occur inside the WSB Arena!

OFFICIAL EFC 116 RESULTS:

Main Card

MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT: Michael def Du Plessis via Unanimous Decision

FEATHERWEIGHT FIGHT: Sekeletu def Lubaya via Unanimous Decision

MIDDLEWEIGHT FIGHT: Nsua def Hlongwa via 1^st Rnd TKO

BANTAMWEIGHT FIGHT: Sovendle def De Beer via 2^nd Rnd TKO

CATCHWEIGHT FIGHT: Komana def Ngcobo via 1^st Rnd TKO

Prelim Card

FEATHERWEIGHT FIGHT: Kunene def Schaper via 1st Rnd submission

FLYWEIGHT FIGHT: Smit def Vilakazi via 2nd Rnd submission

BANTAMWEIGHT FIGHT: Pedro def Lekana via 2^nd Rnd TKO

LIGHTHEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT: Madlala def Van den Berg via 1^st Rnd KO

LIGHTWEIGHT FIGHT: Yemba def Bosco via 2^nd Rnd TKO

FLYWEIGHT FIGHT: Ngamntwini def Ntene via Unanimous Decision

FEATHERWEIGHT FIGHT: Majuba def Hornabrook via 1^st Rnd TKO

PERFORMANCE BONUSES: Lihle Ngamntwini / Andile Madlala / Siyanda Vilakazi / Kelvin Smit / Allistar Kunene / Sibusiso Sovendle

FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Ken Sekeletu vs Jean-Jacques Lubaya

IMAGES: Coutesy EFC Media