Meyer vs Joubert at EFC 14?

EFC Africa 14 is not a very popular topic of conversation at the moment. How could it be with the hype surrounding EFC 12 reaching its pinnacle and that of EFC 13 in Cape Town beginning to build. Still, the thought of this event is lurking somewhere in the back of every fight fans mind. 

A few rumours have begun to circulate surrounding the EFC’s third event for the year, and while the guilty parties may be getting ahead of themselves, there may yet be some merit in these allegations. The major rumour surrounding EFC 14, which is supposed to take place in May 2012, is firmly attached to the promotions only vacant belt, the Light Heavyweight belt.

With three firm contenders for the title shot, there was always going to be some speculation as to who would compete in the imminent light heavyweight title bout. The three men in question are:

Chett Meyer

Chett “The Threat” Meyer (5-1)

Fight Fit Militia’s Chett Meyer is the number 1 rated Light Heavyweight in the EFC. With a 4-1 record in the EFC, Meyer is currently on a 3 fight winning streak. The Threat holds EFC wins over David McVay, James Le Roux, Riaan Lombard and Thumelo Maphuta. Meyer has only lost in the EFC Hexagon once, a submission loss to Lance Ceronio at EFC Africa 2.

 

J.P. Joubert

J.P. “The Bull” Joubert (3-3)

Team Mayhems’s JP Joubert is also on a 3 fight winning streak. With an EFC career spanning two divisions, Joubert (3-2 EFC) has only lost in the heavyweight division. The Bull holds EFC wins over Danie van Heerden Gina Ifuki and Jeremy Scheepers. Now a staple in the Light Heavyweight division, Joubert is certainly a dangerous contender. JP Joubert was also rated as the most vicious light heavyweight in the EFC by MMA South Africa

Norman Wessels

Normal “Chef” Wessels (4-2)

Fight Fit Militia’s Norman Wessels decided to drop to Light Heavyweight after losing his heavyweight title to Ruan Potts at EFC Africa 11. With an impressive 3-1 record in the EFC’s heavyweight division, Wessels may rather ironically end up being a major threat in the Light Heavyweight division. Wessels holds wins over Bertus Coetzee, Danie van Heerden and Bernardo Mikixi. His lone loss comes from current EFC Africa Heavyweight champion Ruan Potts.

Who will fight for the LHW title at EFC 14?

I heard that J.P Joubert has been offered a title shot at EFC Africa 14 in May. If this rumour is true, it is logical that he would face Chett Meyer for the Light Heavyweight title. This seems likely for two reasons. 

Firstly, with Meyer and Joubert both carrying 3 fight winning streaks, they are certainly the top ranked contenders in the division, it is also highly unlikely that Chef would be offered a title shot on his first outing as a light heavy, especially after coming off a heavyweight title fight loss. 

Secondly, I don’t believe that the Fight Fit Militia (FFM) team would be overjoyed with two of their camp’s finest opposing each other. It would be difficult for the team to put forward the united front that they do if they were undergoing such stress. Still, in their quest to be the best Light Heavyweight in the country, this obstacle may yet  be in the future for Meyer and Wessels.

Based on this analysis, I am inclined to believe that the circling rumours are true and that come May we may have a new EFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and that his name will either be Chett Meyer or J.P Joubert.

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EFC Africa 14 in Durban?

The Extreme Fighting Championship has come a long way since its maiden event in November 2009. Since then the promotion has managed to grow from strength to strength and has produced eleven spectacular MMA events in Johannesburg, South Africa. During this time, the EFC has unsurprisingly  built up a huge fan following in the city. 

The EFC has also very obviously had expansion plans, but to successfully execute these plans, they needed to ensure that they never ostracised the audience that they had worked so hard to build. This meant that they needed to overcome the technological barriers which prevented remote fans from watching MMA events. 

EFC 12 is the first event where this has truly been achieved. With coverage on eTV, in Nu Metro cinemas nationwide and online via PPV, fans from across South Africa and the world are now able to tune into EFC events live! Apart from enabling the EFC to broadcast to interested fans worldwide, this has also enabled the EFC to be mobile and to aggressively seek out and earn new fans, all while sufficiently nurturing their current fans with broadcast coverage.

Quick to act, the EFC has already announced their first non-Johannesburg event, EFC Africa 13 – Jakobi vs Costa, which will take place in Cape Town in April 2012. But where to from there?

With an already thriving MMA community, producing some of the top MMA fighters in the country, including EFC Africa fighters Dallas Jakobi, Wentzel Nel, Donavin Hawkey, Wesley Hawkey and Sean Robinson to name but a few, Durban seems a very likely candidate for EFC Africa 14. The seaside community has also been at the fore of MMA in many regards, and currently hosts many professional and amateur MMA events, though nothing quite the size of EFC. This gives the promotion a great foundation to enter into Durban and build on the already flourishing sport and MMA fan base. This in turn can only be good for the sport in Durban and good for the EFC.

I think it is very likely that we will see the EFC venture into Kwazulu Natal and more specifically Durban in the near future. Will EFC Africa 14 be the first event in the Zulu kingdom? Only time can tell, but I have a hunch that if not EFC 14, it will not be long before we see the EFC coming to Durban.

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