Ruan “Fangzz” Potts’ (13-0, 3-0 EFC) first EFC Africa
heavyweight title defence came in the form of dangerous contender Andrew “One
Gear” Van Zyl (7-0. 2-0 EFC). Both fighters were coming off impressive
victories; Ruan Potts had recently defeated Normal Wessels to become the EFC
Africa heavyweight champion, while Van Zyl defeated former title contender
Bernardo Mikixi. On paper this fight had all the makings of a epic battle.
This fight wasted no time in getting started. After a fast
paced touch of gloves, Van Zyl confidently walked into the champion and ate a
solid left hook for his troubles. Potts the closed pulled Van Zyl down to the
ground and immediately pulled guard on the challenger. Both Potts and Van Zyl landed some ineffective
shots as they grappled for superior position.
A minute into the first round, Ruan Potts set up a Kimora,
which enabled Van Zyl to pass his full guard and move to half guard. While
Potts continued to work on the left arm of Van Zyl, the challenger was free to
land some big right hands to the mid section of the exposed champion. These
shots proved effective, and Potts was forced to relinquish his submission hold
in favour of tying up One Gear.
A few seconds later, an attempted escape left Ruan Potts
flattened on his stomach, with Andrew Van Zyl in a very dominant back mount.
Andrew managed to turn Potts and sink both hooks in. He then began to work for
a rear naked choke. Things looked ominous for the reigning EFC Africa
Heavyweight champion. Potts however kept calm and used his arm around the
challengers head to keep him at bay. He then exploded and managed to turn the
position, ended up in the full guard of Van Zyl.
After a fairly uneventful period in Van Zyl’s guard, Ruan
Potts decided to lean back and attempt an ankle lock, which failed and allowed
Van Zyl to attempt to stand up. A tussle ensued and Fangzz managed to once more
ground the challenger, but this time found himself in side control. Potts landed some big elbows to the side of
Van Zyl’s head, before the challenger managed an escape which saw him obtain a
hold of one of the champions legs. Ruan managed to use his weight effectively
on top of the challenger to keep his base.
As Andrew Van Zyl pushed through his single, Ruan Potts
moved with him and sunk in a tight guillotine choke. He also managed to guard
around the challenger and crank down on the exposed neck. This well worked
submission forced Andrew Van Zyl to tap and the fight was called at 3:25 into
the first round.
In winning this bout, Ruan Potts became only the second
champion to successfully defend his EFC crown. He also managed to snap yet
another undefeated record.
Ruan Potts vs Andrew Van Zyl Full Fight Video
Ruan Potts vs Andrew Van Zyl EFC Promo Video
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