Tyron Rightford vs Darren Daniel EFC 15 preview video

Tyron Rightford and Darren Daniel are all set to collide at EFC 15 next weekend. The EFC released a promo video to further hype the bout between these two highly rated middleweights.

Tyron Rightford vs Darren Daniel EFC 15 preview video

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Armand De Bruyn vs Thumelo Maphutha at EFC 15

The Extreme Fighting Championship has announced that Armand De Bruyn and Thumelo Maphutha will face off in yet another middleweight clash to be held at EFC Africa 15.

Armand De Bruyn

Armand De Bruyn (3-1) is currently on a three fight winning streak in the EFC, having defeated Keith Theologo, Tshikangu Makuebo and Abri Valentine within the first round. With such a stacked EFC middleweight division, De Bruyn would surely have been hoping for a top 5 opponent to aid his title shot cause, a profile which Maphutha does not fit.  

Armand De Bruyn

Thumelo Maphutha

Thumelo Maphutha (3-2) is an accomplished striker. The former light heavyweight has only fought once in the EFC Hexagon, a fight he lost against Chett Meyerat at EFC 11. It will be interesting to see how Maphutha fairs at middleweight especially against the ever dangerous De Bruyn.

Thumelo Maphutha

Armand De Bruyn vs Thumelo Maphutha at EFC 15

Armand De Bruyn and Thumelo Maphutha are in very different places in their EFC careers and one fancies that De Bruyn has everything to lose in this fight. Having strung together three straight wins, De Bruyn has earned himself a shot at the upper level middleweights, something that will certainly be revoked should he lose to Maphutha. Maphutha in turn has everything to gain with a win over an accomplished middleweight fighter and should be pleased with the opportunity to do just that. 

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Tyron Rightford vs Darren Daniel at EFC 15

With a hugely stacked division, it is unsurprising that the EFC middleweight division is the centre of attention in South African MMA. The latest bout to create a stir in the promotion is an EFC Africa 15 fight between undefeated EFC fighter Tyron Rightford and local MMA legend Darren Daniel. This is almost assuredly a number one contender bout, the winner of which will in all likelihood face the winner of Smith vs McLellan 2.

Darren "Double D" Daniel 

Darren Daniel (5-1) is widely regarded as one of the most talented local MMA athletes and is undefeated on South African soil. Daniel was destructive in his first two EFC fights defeating Dallas Jakobi and Jacques Joubert in the first round in 2010. Darren Daniel has not fought in almost two years and will now have the opportunity to prove that he is still one of the divisions best when he clashes with Tyron Rightford at EFC 15. 

Darren Daniel

Tyron "The Rush" Rightford

Tyron Rightford (3-0) is undefeated in his professional MMA and EFC careers. Though he started slowly with a majority decision victory over Tshikangu Makuebo, Rightford soon found his rhythm and quickly dispatched of Paul Terblanche and Jacques Joubert via TKO to earn himself the #3 spot in my middleweight rankings.  

Tyron Rightford

Darren Daniel vs Tyron Rightford at EFC 15

Even before it was officially announced, the prospect of Darren Daniel vs Tyron Rightford caused a great buzz in the MMA community. The two fighters started early with banter on twitter which helped to fuel this fight. Though featured on a fight card behind two great title fights, Daniel vs Rightford seems to be stealing the show and promises to be a great fight between two great middleweight fighters.

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Jeremy Smith vs Garreth McLellan 2 at EFC 15

EFC Africa 15 will play host to the first title rematch in EFC history, and what a rematch it is.

Earlier this year, at EFC 12, Jeremy Smith managed to defeat Garreth McLellan via fourth round Guillotine choke to become the EFC Africa middleweight champion. The fight, arguably the biggest ever on African soil was evenly contested until Smith caught McLellan, and the rematch will be eagerly anticipated by MMA fans.

Jeremy "Pitbull" Smith

Jeremy Smith (11-1) has not fought since his faced McLellan at EFC Africa 12. The Pitbull however will come into this fight in a very different position, with the added pressure of being the middleweight champion. Smith will want to prove that his victory at EFC 12 was no fluke and retain his middleweight strap.

Jeremy Smith

Garreth "Soldierboy" McLellan

Garreth McLellan (7-2) looked clinical against Danie van Heerden at EFC 14. The victory, a second round rear-naked choke submission, earned Soldierboy a rematch against his nemisis Jeremy Smith. McLellan will once more have the chance to prove that he is the best middleweight in Africa

Garreth McLellan

Jeremy Smith vs Garreth McLellan 2 at EFC 15

The first fight between Jeremy Smith and Garreth McLellan was a fight of the night performance. I expect nothing less from this one. Each fighter will take something out of their last clash, and both should come into this fight even more prepared. With the stakes just as high as before, and the names as big as they get in South African MMA, this fight promises to deliver something special.

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EFC14: Danie van Heerden misses weight

Garreth McLellan and Danie van Heerden were scheduled to compete at EFC AFrica 14 for the number one middleweight contender spot and the honour of challenging Jeremy Smith for his EFC middleweight title.

Today at the EFC Africa 14 weigh ins, Danie van Heerden failed to make the cut off weight of 84kg. Van Heerden, who weighed in at 88kg was a whopping 4kg overweight, far too much to cut in the allotted 2 hour grace period. Garreth McLellan came in on the dot at 84kg.

No official statement has been released by Van Heerden's camp as to why he missed his target weight, but with him doing so the fight was jeopardised. After a few hours of speculation however, things were settled between the parties and it appears the fight is still on, though not without its fair share of controversy.

Danie van Heerden was eventually penalised 55% of his fight purse and will no longer be eligible for the title shot should he defeat Garreth McLellan. This news sent a shockwave through the MMA community who took to twitter to vent their disapproval - some directed at Van Heerden for being unprofessional and missing weight, others for the harsh penalties he incurred. A huge twitter war of words soon erupted involving many of the sports biggest names.

Regardless of the reason, this scenario puts a dampener on what was building up to be a brilliant middleweight clash and the MMA community have a right to feel cheated. Yes, we may still see a cracker of a fight, but there will always be questions surrounding the match-up which cannot be answered.

Update: World of warriors respond

We apologise to all our followers The cut was going according to plan until yesterday.We tried everything in our power to cut today.
We were advised by our doctors that it was not safe to continue.that is why it appeared like he was doing nothing in his 2 hr grace.
And we would have fought Soldierboy for free any way.

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Garreth McLellan vs Danie van Heerden EFC 14 middleweight fight preview

EFC 14 will play host to a huge middleweight clash between former EFC Africa middleweight champion Garreth McLellan and rising middleweight contender Danie van Heerden. Though not officially announced, there is a strong possibility that this will fight will prove to be a number one middleweight contender bout. I discussed this in my article: Who will challenge Jeremy Smith?

Garreth McLellan (6-2)

Garreth “Soldierboy” McLellan (#2 Middleweight Rankings) is one of the most popular MMA fighters in South Africa and has reached the highest levels in the sport. At EFC 12, McLellan lost his EFC middleweight title to Jeremy Smith in a fight of the night clash. After taking stock of his loss, Soldierboy is hell bent on reclaiming his title and will take the first step towards doing so when he steps into the EFC Hexagon against Danie van Heerden.

Garreth McLellan

Garreth McLellan road to EFC Africa 14

Opponent	Result	Method	Event
Barry Britz	Win	TKO (Punches)	EFC Africa 1
Juan Lubbe	Win	KO (Punch)	EFC Africa 2
Warren Allison	Win	Submission (Armbar)	EFC Africa 3
Wade Henderson	Win	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	EFC Africa 5
Jacques Joubert	Win	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	EFC Africa 8
Jeremy Smith	Loss	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	EFC Africa 12

Danie van Heerden (9-4)

Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden (#5 Middleweight Rankings) made a huge statement at EFC Africa 12 by defeating ranked fighter Donavin Hawkey in the first round. This victory catapulted van Heerden into the top 5 rankings and caused speculation about a possible title shot in the near future. Danie van Heerden will now face a tough test in Garreth McLellan in his highest profile MMA fight to date.

Danie Van Heerden

Danie van Heerden road to EFC Africa 14

Opponent	Result	Method	Event
Muhannad Barazi	Win	KO (Punch)	EFC Africa 1
Norman Wessels	Loss	TKO (Punches)	EFC Africa 2
JP Joubert	Loss	Submission (Armbar)	EFC Africa 3
Jake Els	Win	TKO (Punches)	EFC Africa 5
Donavin Hawkey	Win	Submission (Rear-naked choke)	EFC Africa 12

Garreth McLellan and Danie van Heerden - Fighter Comparison

Stand-up advantage

Danie van Heerden comes from a boxing family and is an aggressive fighter with good hands, he also has good take downs which can affect how fighters approach him. Garreth McLellan is a very well rounded, technical and calculated striker and I think he will be comfortable standing with Van Heerden. While both fighters have different approaches to the stand-up game, I think it will be fairly even on the night.

Ground advantage

In my opinion Garreth McLellan has an advantage on the ground. Soldierboy has spent a fair amount of his recent cage time on the mat and has looked effective in this realm. McLellan also has the tools to neutralise Van Heerden’s wrestling skills, and should be able to dictate the fight should it go down.

Physical advantage

Garreth McLellan is one of the most diligent athletes in the EFC and always enters the EFC Hexagon in fantastic shape. Even though Danie van Heerden is the bigger man and should come into the Hexagon with a few extra kilos, this should not be enough to give him any real advantage. The question will be how Van Heerden will fair should the fight be drawn out. All in all, I don’t think there will be any significant physical advantage for either fighter.

Mental advantage

McLellan has seen and done it all in the Hexagon and should carry a mental edge into this fight. Van Heerden, though experienced in MMA, has not has the same big fight exposure.

Garreth McLellan  – Keys to victory

Garreth McLellan is an intelligent, well conditioned fighter. The longer this fight goes on, the more it will favour him

• Expect an aggressive start from Van Heerden
• Fight from the outside and avoid exchanges with Van Heerden
• Use leg kicks to wear Van Heerden down
• Take the fight to the ground if an opportunity presents itself

Danie van Heerden – Keys to victory

Danie van Heerden should not let McLellan settle and work towards an early stoppage

• Be aggressive standing, look to close the distance and outbox McLellan
• Keep the pressure on McLellan using strikes and effective clinch work
• Be careful and methodical on the ground. Look to land effective ground and pound where possible.

Garreth McLellan vs Danie van Heerden – EFC 14 fight prediction

Danie van Heerden will come out aggressive, looking to press the action. McLellan will have to weather some heavy storms early on, but should be able to avoid taking too much damage while using effective counter striking to earn some points of his own. The fight will likely continue its frenetic pace for the majority of the first round with Van Heerden pushing forward and McLellan trying to keep his distance.

Round two will see a drop in pace as the two fighters begin to tire. Garreth McLellan will begin to take control of the stand-up, using effective strikes to pressure Van Heerden. As the round unfolds the momentum will swing more and more into McLellan’s favour, who will be able to get the fight to the ground and work his superior grappling to finish Danie Van Heerden via second round Rear-naked choke.

Danie van Heerden vs Garreth McLellan EFC Africa 14 promo vídeo

Click here to watch the: Garreth McLellan vs Danie van Heerden EFC 14 promo video

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Garreth McLellan vs Danie van Heerden EFC 14 Promo video

The EFC have released a promotional video for their upcoming middleweight fight between Garreth "Soldieryboy" McLellan and Danie "Pitbull" Van Heerden at EFC Africa 14. The two fighters will clash in what may prove to be a number one middleweight contender bout, the winner of which may get a title shot against reigning champion Jeremy Smith.

Garreth McLellan vs Danie van Heerden EFC 14 Promo video

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James Le Roux vs Tshikangu Makuebo at EFC14

In the wake of the EFC's need to pull two featherweight fights, the EFC 14 fight card has once more been completed by the addition of a middleweight clash. James Le Roux will face Tshikangu Makeubo in a fight with more than just pride at stake.

James Le Roux 

James Le Roux (0-2) has lost two difficult match-ups in the EFC, first against Chett Meyer (#2 Light Heavyweight Rankings) at EFC Africa 4 and more recently against Wade Henderson at EFC 13. 

James Le Roux

Tshikangu Makeubo

Tshikangu Makeubo (0-2) has also lost two challenging fights in the EFC, against Tyron Rightford (#3 Middleweight Rankings) and Armand de Bruyn who are both on three fight winning streaks in the EFC middleweight division. 

Tshikangu Makuebo

James Le Roux vs Tshikangu Makeubo at EFC14

Having both lost their first two EFC fights, Le Roux and Makeubo find themselves a similar position. Both fighters need a win desperately to alleviate some of the stress and enable them to not only put their EFC career on the right track, but maintain their EFC contract. Having both fought tough opponents to date, James Le Roux and Tshikangu Makeubo will likely view each other as the ideal opponent. 

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Danie "Pitbull" Van Heerden - Fighter Profile

About Danie van Heerden

Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden comes from a boxing family, and so naturally started his fighting career as an amateur boxer. He had one amateur fight and then got involved in wrestling. Van Heerden excelled as a wrestler and earned Sedibeng colours, coming second at the national wrestling championship. Van Heerden would go on to become a pro wrestler, but scripted fights weren’t his calling and he moved into MMA where he was the master of his destiny.

Fighting in the EFC

Danie van Heerden began his EFC career at heavyweight, facing international fight Muhannad Barazi in a fight he won via KO in round one. This fight earned him a fight against Norman Wessels, in what would turn out to be a number one heavyweight contender fight. Van Heerden lost back to back fights against Wessels and JP Joubert before returning to his winning ways against Jake Els at EFC Africa 5.

Leaving the EFC and redefining himself

After his victory against Jake Els in October 2010, van Heerden left the EFC, but continued to fight in other promotions including XFC Africa and Fight Force. Here Van Heerden enjoyed mixed results, losing to Jeremy Scheepers and Michiel Opperman, but defeating Craig Fourie (twice). During this time, Danie van Heerden redefined himself as a fighter and dropped two weight divisions to become a middleweight fighter.

Fighting at middleweight

The result of his tenure outside the EFC was career defining for Danie van Heerden as he looked a completely different fighter at middleweight. In his new division, van Heerden is a huge man, and although he weighs in at 84kg, he must enter the Hexagon closer to 95kg. Van Heerden has enjoyed some success at middleweight and has strung together two impressive wins, including a win over ranked fighter Donavin Hawkey.

Road towards the EFC middleweight title

With his win over Donavin Hawkey, Danie van Heerden announced himself as a genuine contender in the middleweight division. The EFC were quick to take notice of this and have slated him to fight former middleweight champion Garreth “Soldierboy” McLellan in what could prove to be a number one contender bout at EFC 14. With this win, and at most one more, Danie van Heerden will surely earn himself a shot at middleweight gold.

Danie van Heerden stats

Nickname: Pitbull                                 
Age: 25
Height: 6’2” (187cm)
Weight: 84 Kg
Weight division: Middleweight
Stance: Orthadox
Hometown: Johannesburg, South Africa
Fight team: World of Warriors
Twitter profile: @daniepitbull

Danie van Heerden fight stats

All time stats – 9 wins, 4 losses
EFC Stats – 3 wins, 2 losses (2 KO, 1 Submissions)

Danie van Heerden EFC fights

Opponent	Result	Method	Event
Donavin Hawkey	Win	Submission (Rear-naked choke)	EFC Africa 12
Jake Els	Win	TKO (Punches)	EFC Africa 5
JP Joubert	Loss	Submission (Armbar)	EFC Africa 3
Norman Wessels	Loss	TKO (Punches)	EFC Africa 2
Muhannad Barazi	Win	KO (Punch)	EFC Africa 1

Danie van Heerden Fighting Achievements

Sedibeng colours for wrestling

Second at SA national wrestling championships

               

Danie van Heerden MMA South Africa Awards

#5 MMA South Africa middleweight rankings

Surprise fighter of the night – EFC 12 

Danie van Heerden articles

Click here to view all articles on MMA South Africa: Danie van Heerden articles

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EFC Africa Middleweight division stealing the limelight

The EFC Africa middleweight division has really come to the forefront in 2012. The recent momentum was spearheaded by the colossal EFC 12 main event between Jeremy Smith and Garreth McLellan. March's title fight not only delivered a great contest, but a whole heap of added controversy and the Middleweight title has remained a hot topic of debate. 

This was however the tip of the iceberg, and some new additions to the middleweight division, coupled with some clever match-making have created a new buzz about the division, the likes of which I have not seen before in South Africa. 

EFC Middleweight division – New additions in 2012

Danie van Heerden

Danie van Heerden brought a new dimension to the middleweight division – a big, experienced middleweight who can strike well. 

Chett Meyer

Chett Meyer’s decision tomove to middleweight came as somewhat of a surprise to me. The division now has yet another big, experienced middleweight to contend with. 

Darren Daniel

After almost two years absence, Darren Daniel is back in the EFC mix. Daniel is one of the most gifted fighters in South Africa, who brings additional international experience to the Middleweight division.

The EFC Africa middleweight landscape 

Fighter	Record	EFC	Streak	MMA achievements
Jeremy Smith	11-1	2-0	11	EFC Middleweight champion
Tyron Rightford	3-0	3-0	3	Undefeated in the EFC
Chett Meyer	5-1	4-1	3	Former #1 Light Heavyweight rankings. Yet to fight at middleweight.
Armand de Bruyn	3-1	3-1	3	Finished his last 3 opponents in the first round
Darren Daniel	5-1	2-0	2	Undefeated in the EFC
Danie van Heerden	9-4	3-2	2	Undefeated in the EFC at middleweight
Wade Henderson	23-13	4-4	2	Vastly experienced across multiple weight divisions
JP Kruger	1-1	1-0	1	Only EFC loss to former EFC Champion Garreth McLellan
Garreth McLellan	6-2	5-1	0	Former EFC Middleweight champion. Only EFC loss to Middleweight champion Jeremy Smith
Donavin Hawkey	20-8	1-1	0	Former Fight Force Light Heavyweight champion & #1 Ranked LHW in SA.
Jacques Joubert	10-8	4-3	0	EFC Middleweight title contender
James Rennie	11-3	0-1	0	Only EFC loss to Welterweight champion Jadyson Costa
Liam Cleland	3-2	1-1	0	Only  fighter to have defeated Jeremy Smith. Only EFC loss to Middleweight champion Jeremy Smith

EFC Middleweight upcoming fights

Garreth McLellan vs Danie van Heerden at EFC 14

Chett Meyer vs Donavin Hawkey at EFC 15

Tyron Rightford vs Darren Daniel at EFC 15

JP Kruger vs Mawande Vapi at EFC 14

Jeremy Smith vs ?

The Middleweight division is so hot right now

Unsurprisingly the MMA community has gone mad with excitement since the announcement of the three blockbuster middleweight fights. Twitter has been the medium most used and fans have already begun predicting who will get the next title shot.

The beauty of this situation is that the title shot is not the only thing to look forward to. With such a rich and diverse division, plus a wealth of new fighters coming through the ranks, the middleweight division promises an abundance of great fights in the future too. 

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