EFC WORLDWIDE made it's way to the coastal town of Durban, for what pomised to be an amazing fight card.
On the night we saw the debut of two female fighters, Amanda Lino and Stephanie Qualie. As in the Varju vs Elliasov fight, the fans were hoping for it to be televised but with no luck. I can tell you however, this fight was fit for the main card. From the 1st bell, Amanda was ready to pounce, following Qualie around the cage and BAM, Lino strikes with some beautiful one-two combos. All of Lino's shots landing and putting Qualie in a world of hurt. Qualie falls to the canvas, with Lino right there to lay down some ground and pound. The ref sees Qualie does nothing to defend herself and calls an end to the fight. With this level of action from the ladies, surely they need their spot on the main card.
The main card fights were what everyone expected. With the much anticipated Boyd Allen vs Wesley Hawkey.
Haratyk with a clear better record then Davies, showed EFC fight maker, Greame Cartmell why they made no mistake in signing him. Haratyk opens with some straight shots and gets Skinner against the cage. The two tussle and takes the fight to the middle. Skinner tries the kick but slips and falls, Haratyk moves in and takes advantage. He manages to get the back of Davies. Haratyk tries for the choke but Davies fights out of the hold. Haratyk is not having any of it and goes for the choke again. This time, tighter and rolls onto his back. Davies stuggles but has no option but to tap out.
Both fighters use the space and move around freely, before Botha takes Chelin down. Botha making good use of his ground game. Chelin gives Botha his side guard and gets woked on the canvas more. The ref stands the two up due to very little action on the ground. Botha shows his boxing skills by throwing some good one-two combos and landing them on the target.
The round starts with Botha shooting a few straight shots. The fight goes to the mat and Chelin tries to work Botha from his back. Botha attempts to take the full gaurd of Chelin, but he's not giving it up that easy. After some time on the floor with no real action, the ref again stands the fighters up. Botha throws a shot, Chelin dodges and gets Botha on the ground, few seconds before the round comes to an end.
As in round 2, Botha opens with a combo of straight shots. Chelin attempts the take down, but ends up giving Botha his side guard. And as it's been the trend in this fight, Botha and Chelin are both told by the ref to stand up. Botha starts moving around and then surprises Chelin with some straight left-right shots. Chelin this time, lands a few front kicks to the body of Botha, but he is not fazed and moves forward as usual. Just before the final bell is sound, both fighters exchange shots and end the 3rd and final round with a bang.
The judges score cards read 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, for your winner by Unanimous Decision, Hanru Botha.
As can be expected, the fight starts with both guys just feeling each other out. throwing punches but with no real power behind it. While Delafield is still in this state of mind, Kabesa surprises him with a beautifully timed overhead left that lands right on the money (the chin). Delafield goes down hard and Kabesa takes full advantage. Kabesa is relentless and hits Delafield with shot after shot right to the head. After a few more head shots, referee Wiekus Swart steps in and stops the fight.
Ayo Daly steps in for fellow countryman Peter Queally, after he got injured during preperation for this fight. It is believed that Daly actually resigned from his day job when his boss refused to give him some time off fo the fight. Daly told his boss, he can always get another job, but will never get this opportunity again.
Daly gets van Staden on the ground and attempts the headlock. The veteran van Staden gets out of it and on his feet. Daly again attempts for the take down, but this time van Staden lands some accurate shots to the face of Daly. Daly seems to be way out of his comfort zone as he eats a hard left that sends him to the floor. van Staden wastes no time and gets to work with his ground and pound. After a few shots to Daly, the ref stops the fight as Daly has no chance of defending himself.
At firts, both fighters just land a few shots, not much power but enough to show intent. Allen gives a leg kick and follows it up with a straight right hand. Hawkey on his turn, shoots for the high kick but misses. Allen this time goes for the kick again and lands it beautifully. That kick got Hawkey dazed, Allen being the fighter he is, capitalises and follows up with a combo of punches. Hawkey drops to the floor and Allen is there to take his back and get the choke in. The hold is tight and Hawkey taps out.
The night had some amazing fights, all living upto expectations. The Durban crowd surely had the time of their lives.