A lot is
happening in the lightweight division and many new fighters have begun to stake
their claim as future greats. Though
there has been no real top lightweight action over the past month, there have
been changes to the lightweight rankings based on inactivity and divisional
changes. Adam Speechly’s drop to lightweight needed to be accounted for and due
to inactivity over the past two years, Chris Bright has fallen off the
rankings.
1. Costa Ioannou (4–0)
Undefeated in his
professional career and boasting many of the biggest scalps in the division,
Costa Ioannou is somewhat of an enigma in the lightweight class. He is
ferocious on the feet, incredibly strong in the clinch and an expert on the
ground, a mix which is proving increasingly difficult for the rest of the
division to figure out. Ioannou, the current EFC Africa lightweight champion,
was also the first South African to defend an EFC title, when he bested Alex
Cheboub in emphatic style at EFC 10. If history is anything to go by, Costa
Ioannou could be a dominant force in the hexagon for a long time to come.
2. Brendon Katz (7-1)
Brendon Katz has
a single blemish, courtesy of this list’s number one fighter, Costa Ioannou, in
a fight of the night appearance. Shy of his only loss, Katz has looked
impressive in the cage, and has recently made a successful jump to fighting
internationally, where he has defeated USA’s Omar Santiago at XFC Africa
5 and UK’s Huseyin Garabet at UCMMA25.
Hopefully we will see Brendon Katz back in the cage in South Africa soon, where
he can put his wealth of experience to good use.
3. Wentzel “The Animal” Nel (9-3)
Former EFC Africa
Lightweight champion Wentzel Nel has used his wrestling to defeat some of the
best in the division, including besting Leo Gloss to become the first EFC
lightweight champion. Nel recently lost his lightweight crown to Costa Ioannou
at EFC 08, but bounced back with a pair of wins against Manny Da Silva at EFC
09 and Terrence Griessel at EFC 11. It looks like The Animal wants his
Lightweight belt back!
4. Ryan “The Lion” van Niekerk (20-6)
Ryan van Niekerk
is a veteran of the sport, and has held division gold in other promotions. Van
Niekerk has also fought some of the toughest names in the business including
Wesley Hawkey and Chris Bright. Currently on a four fight winning streak, The
Lion managed to win his EFC debut against Markus Taljaard and will be looking
to build on this platform and ultimately earn an EFC Africa title shot.
5. Adam “The Prodigy” Speechly (12-3)
Former EFC Africa
welterweight champion Adam Speechly will make his Lightweight debut at EFC 14
in a title fight against Costa Ioannou. Though The Prodigy has yet to fight at
lightweight, his impressive welterweight resume assures him a place on this
list, how he performs at lightweight, a division that I believe better suits
him, will be interesting to see.
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