Saturday 3 March 2012

EFC Africa 12 in retrospect



EFC Africa 12 has been building up for months, I often wondered if the day would ever arrive, then BAM! In what seems like a fleeting moment, it has been and gone, and all we are left with is memories of a great evening, oh and the prospect of another great event in EFC 13 looming on the horizon.

Over my next few articles I will be dissecting the event, the fights and the fighters in a lot more detail. To start, here is an overview of the MMA event that was EFC Africa 12.


My EFC 12 predictions
After starting with a bang, getting the first two fights almost bang on the money, things went horribly awry for my predictions. Just goes to show, anything is possible in fighting. I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw at the event, many of the fighters showing huge improvement. Fortunately, I did manage to finish strong, predicting the two main event fight winners correctly. Click here to see my EFC 12 predictions

Prediction results: 4/10*
*two fights were changed last minute and I didn’t predict winners for them

My fight of the night
The main event – Garreth McLellan vs Jeremy Smith for the EFC Africa Middleweight title. This fight had it all, two great fighters, huge pre-fight hype and a back and forth tussle worthy of a title fight. The combatants showed great skill and game planning to fight to a veritable stalemate, but not the boring kind. Each punch was answered and each round favouring a different fighter. This is a must see fight for all MMA fans.

My submission of the night
Wesley Hawkey managed to defy the odds by submitting grappling specialist Denzil Wait with a beautifully executed and downright brutal armbar to earn himself a title shot at featherweight champion Demarte Pena. Hawkey was dominant on the ground and had Wait in precarious positions a few times before finally executing his match winning submission.

My knockout of the night
After a rather boring opening round, Raymond Ahana unleashed a savage head kick to finish firm favourite Sean Robinson in their light heavyweight main card bout. Robinson dropped lifeless to the canvas and was pounced upon by Ahana, who had to be wrestled off his fallen opponent by referee Wikus Swart.

My fighter of the night
Wesley Hawkey was clinical in his victory against tough competitor Denzil Wait. Hawkey looked comfortable both standing and on his back and showed a completely well rounded MMA game. The future looks bright for the Young Assassin.

Surprise fighter of the night
Danie van Heerden was a revelation in his return to the Hexagon at Middleweight. Facing a very dangerous opponent in Donavin Hawkey, van Heerden looked sharp standing and showed a much improved ground game. He did struggle at times on the ground and was once caught deep in a Hawkey armbar, but van Heerden managed to escape, regain a dominant position and take the victory. The new Danie van Heerden looks good!

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