MMA Awards 2023

Ruckus Media is a Sports Media and Marketing organisation dedicated to highlighting the issues faced by young sportsmen and women as they strive to become world class. Our aim is to become the leading voice in the growth of both combat sports and esports across the African continent.

Our third annual EFC Awards showcases what, in our opinion, were the top performances in the following categories during 2023;

Coach of the Year: Morne Visser

As the Head Coach at Team CIT, he successfully guided the gym through four (4) successful title fights and three (3) new EFC straps for the gym’s wall.

Add to that, a hugely successful year in the UFC with Cameron Saaiman and Dricus Du Plessis – who is currently the number one ranked middleweight in the UFC and will be fighting for the middleweight strap in early 2024.

Gym of the Year: Team CIT

With four (4) successful title fights and three (3) new EFC straps on their gym wall, there is no better record in 2023.

Submission of the Year: Shannon van Tonder

A “bone-dry” Van Tonder submitted Ashley Calvert by guillotine choke at #EFC102 in less than a minute! With four (4) choke submissions out of his five (5) EFC victories, lets hope we get to see a lot more of Van Tonder in 2024.

KO of the Year: Diega Bandu

There is no better way to stir-up a home crowd than to send your opponent to the shadow-realm in a fight that, by all accounts, you were losing! This well-timed knee was quite possibly the only significant strike landed by Bandu earning him a Perfomance Bonus at #EFC110.

Athlete of the Year: Humphrey Mulenga

As the only athlete to have competed five (5) times in 2023 – (4 x EFC) 

He also has five (5) first round finishes, leaving him undefeated in 2023. It is only a matter of time before we see Mulenga as an EFC Champion!

Moment of the Year: Terence Balelo

It’s not often that we get to experience an “on-the-day” replacement for a title fight and then witness that replacement deliver an emphatic performance to win the strap. Well this happened at #EFC108 and the moment Balelo felt the strap around his waist was understandably an emotional one!

Fighter of the Year: Terence Balelo

Having competed three (3) times during 2023 with two wins and one loss would hardly be worth considering for Fighter ot Year! When you consider that his first win in May simply extended his win-streak to 4-fights. His next fight was for the Flyweight strap which he lost and then just 35-days later took a “same-day” notice fight for the interim Bantamweight strap – and WON!

Fight of the Year: Van Wyk VS Laubscher 

With only four (4) ladies fights in the EFC this year, it had to be something special from the ladies to eclipse the other eight FOTN performances in 2023. The ladies war at #efc106 was a battle between two warriors who showcased great striking and multiple submission attempts and we were priveledged to have been there to witness that spectacle in person! 

Our final Award for 2023 is for African Fighter of the Year.
With five (5) fights (5-0), including a title fight where he secured the PFL Light Heavyweight Strap with a unanimous decision victory over Josh Silva.
African Fighter of the Year: Impa Kasanganay

#punchykicky #2023awards