Donavin Hawkey sponsored a Toyota Etios by McCarthy Toyota Pinetown

Donavin Hawkey in his sponsored Toyota Etios

EFC Africa Middleweight fighter Donavin "Bam Bamz" Hawkey is scheduled to fight Chett Meyer at EFC Africa 15 this Friday. Ahead of his latest tussle, the Durban based fighter was sponsored a Toyota Etios 1.5 XS car by McCarthy Toyota Pinetown.

It is always fantastic to see companies getting on board and sponsoring MMA fighters, be it apparel or as in this case, a new car. It is a sure sign that the sport is growing in popularity in South Africa.

Donavin Hawkey

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EFC Africa fight DVD's for sale

The Extreme Fighting Championship has released DVD's from their first 10 MMA Events. The DVD's allow fight fans to go back in time and relive all fight fights as they happened.

Where to buy EFC Africa DVD's

All EFC DVD's can be purchased online at shop.efcafrica.com for R115.00 or at Look & Listen stores nationwide for R150.00

EFC Africa DVD's available:

• EFC Africa 01 - Casillas vs Bright
• EFC Africa 02 - Van Heerden vs Wessels
• EFC Africa 03 - Nel vs Gloss
• EFC Africa 04 - Daniel vs Jakobi
• EFC Africa 05 - Mikixi vs Wessels
• EFC Africa 06 - Hamdan vs Speechly, Henderson vs Joubert, Bentley vs Cheboub
• EFC Africa 07 - Potts vs Robinson
• EFC Africa 08 - McLellan vs Joubert, Nel vs Ioannou, Speechly vs Swanepoel
• EFC Africa 09 - Wessels vs Potts
• EFC Africa 10 - Speechly vs Jakobi, Gloss vs Pena

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Where to watch EFC 12

The Mixed Martial Arts revolution in Africa and particularly South Africa has been taken to the next level by the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC). Building on the platform created by other great local promotions, the EFC has managed to take MMA to a larger audience and as a result the sport's popularity is growing steadily.

Continuing to pioneer MMA in South Africa, the EFC will once more break new ground with their upcoming event EFC Africa 12. The event, hosted at Carnival city, will reach a far greater audience than any other of its predecessors through various new media. This will also aid the EFC in its goal to become a truly national promotion and will enable all the loyal Gauteng fans to keep up with the action at EFC Africa 13 in Cape Town later this year.

In addition to the spectacle of viewing all the action live at Carnival City, EFC 12 will also be available to fans on the following broadcast mediums:

Nu Metro Cinemas
Fans from across South Africa can watch the action via a live broadcast at various participating Nu Metro Cinemas. Tickets cost R185.00 and have a tendency to sell our in the days leading up the event. Book now to avoid disappointment.


Pay Per View Online
For the past few events, the EFC has offered free live streaming of their events on the official website. Having sufficiently tested the system, EFC 12 will be the first event using the traditional Pay Per View model. This is a very convenient way to watch the events from the comfort of your home and the quality is very good. Just make sure your internet speed is high enough to avoid any lag.

Live maincard broadcast on eTV
The 4 main event fights will be broadcast live on eTV on Friday 2 March at 22:30. In a previous article, EFC on eTV, I discussed the significance of this for MMA, as this free medium will enable viewers from all over Africa to tune in to one of the biggest MMA fights seen on the continent, the Middleweight title fight between Garreth "Soldierboy" McLellan and Jeremy "Pibull" Smith.

For full information on where to watch EFC Africa 12, click here to visit the official EFC website.

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South African MMA Community update

Twitter is a wonderful tool which enables us to keep abreast of the latest happenings in areas of interest. For me, this area is Mixed Martial Arts, and more specifically, MMA within South Africa.

Here are a couple of interesting things happening in the South African MMA community. If you know of anything else, please tweet me on my twitter account: MMA South Africa

MMA Announcements
The fast approaching EFC 12 - McLellann vs Smith event fight card has undergone some serious reconstruction. As is customary with MMA events, injury has forced the withdrawal of certain fighters. Fortunately the EFC has found replacements for these fighters and the event still looks like a winner. Here is a link for all articles pertaining to: EFC 12 articles


MMA Articles
I have stumbled upon a couple of good articles pertaining the South African Martial Arts community. These are inextricably linked with the MMA community and are an interesting read. As the sport continues to grow and evolve, this type of article should become more common.

MMAWear.co.za interviews Dino Bagattin
MMAWear.co.za recently conducted an interview with EFC 12 fighter Dino "The Lion" Bagattin. The brief interview touches on the following topics:

• Preparation for his upcoming EFC 12 fight
• His thoughts on Martin van Staden's injury and his new opponent Michiel Opperman
• His future in the EFC and MMA 

Click here for the full interview

Huntley Smith on BJJ & MMA in SA

Huntley Smith is a BJJ instructor at Gorilla Warfare, one of the top fight teams in South Africa and home to EFC fighters Jeremy Smith, Andrew van Zyl, Denzil Wait and Jean-Luc Kazadi. In this article, Smith covers the following topics:

• The psyche of fighting
• The evolution of MMA
• BJJ and MMA in South Africa

Click here for the full article


Martial Arts Events
A couple of Seminars and Tournaments have been announced for the coming weeks. Here is the info you need:

Team Mayhem & Rio Grappling BJJ Seminar
18 February 2012, Roodepoort, Gauteng 
Join Jurgen Putter, Francois Groenewald, JP Joubert and Jacques Joubert for a BJJ seminar catering for 1st timers through to intermediate and experienced learners. R50-00 per person as an opening and introductory offer. 
More info

Quantum Tribe Grapplers Cup
25 February 2012, Bruma, Gauteng
Another great Grappling competition for all grapplers from all clubs and all walks of life. Come together and compete in this awesome sport of brotherhood, Both Gi and No Gi will be available as well as Male and Female
More info


New MMA Gyms
Some new MMA gyms have opened recently in the Johannesburg area. Here is some information on the latest additions to the MMA community:

World of Warriors
1st floor, Orion building, Corner Boeing and 1st Avenue, Elma Park
011 657 4435
Website
Facebook Page
Twitter Profile 
Feature article on Smacktalk.co.za


Team Mayhem SA
Roodepoort / Ruimsig Athletic Stadium
071 362 7331
Facebook Page
Twitter Profile

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EFC Africa 12 to be broadcast live on eTV

Following the success of the Extreme Fighting Championships venture into free-to-air terrestrial television with eTV late last year, the EFC now looks forward to a historic 2012. The partnership brought MMA to the mainstream when it aired highlight episodes from EFC 10 and 11, but has much bigger plans come March 2, when Africa will be treated to its first live broadcast of an MMA event.

EFC 12, is the first of 8 EFC events scheduled from 2012 which will have their main card fights broadcast live in South Africa, and a large part of the African continent. What does this mean for MMA in SA? Only big things. eTV is the largest English television station on the continent, and will do wonders for bringing Mixed Martial Arts to the public, which can only help the sport to flourish.

EFC Africa 12 main card fights to be broadcast live
Garreth McLellan vs Jeremy Smith (Middleweight title fight)
Sean Robinson vs Tumelo Maphutha (Light Heavyweight)
Donavin Hawkey vs Tyron Rightford

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