New EFC Champion crowned
Dino Bagattin was crowned new Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) Africa welterweight champion at the 23rd edition of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event at Carnival City on last night.
Bagattin defeated Opperman after their thrilling fight went all five rounds, ending in a unanimous decision from the judges' table handing the veteran the title.
Bagattin's stunning win overshadowed the event's other title bout, as Andrew van Zyl retained his heavyweight title having defeated the hard-hitting Sors Grobbelaar one minute and 51 seconds into the second round.
Opperman exposed a cut above Bagattin's left eye midway through the first round, leaving a blood-soaked Bagattin to battle on with blood hindering his vision.
A bruising second round followed, as Bagattin made headway, landing a series of hefty blows to Opperman's face and body.
By the start of the third, both fighters had suffered cuts to the face and were bleeding heavily, but neither let up, as Opperman got himself back into the fight with a massive blow that sent his challenger to the ground.
But it was in the fourth round when Bagattin made his move, as a clearly exhausted Opperman began to show signs of weakness, allowing Bagattin to capitalise.
Despite Bagattin's dominance with his hands, Opperman refused to give in but in the end, it was not enough to secure the result as Bagattin walked away a worthy champion.
The night's other maincard fights saw Vandam Mbuyi destroy his opponent Wilhelm Strauss in the heavyweight division.
The fight had hardly begun when the two massive fighters collided, but it was Mbuyi who landed the first significant blow, which sent Strauss crashing to the mat a mere 28 seconds into the fight, handing Mbuyi his second victory at an EFC event.
Following Mbuyi's victory, Ireland-based Henry Fadipe caused on of the biggest upsets in the welterweight division when he defeated Martin van Staden two-and-a-half minutes into the opening round, courtesy of a deadly ankle lock in the middle of the cage.
Fadipe's submission left Van Staden with a badly injured ankle, while Fadipe heads back to Dublin with the knowledge that he has put himself in a commanding position for a shot at the welterweight title.
The trend continued as crowd-favourite Boyd Allen disposed of Wesley Hawkey a minute and 59 seconds into the first round of their featherweight bout.
The pair traded blows early in the round, before Hawkey took the fight to the ground. Allen duly obliged but managed to get his opponent back up to his feet and pulled off a stunning guillotine submission move that ended any hopes of a Hawkey victory.
(File Photo:Gallo Images)
- Sapa