Can Conrad Seabi follow in his students' footsteps at EFC 103?
Johannesburg - It’s fight week in Mzansi as the Extreme Fighting Championship returns with EFC 103 on Thursday.
The main event sees South African MMA veterans JP Kruger and Conrad Seabi square off for the interim middleweight title after the incumbent champion Luke Michael tore his anterior cruciate ligament during training.
Michael has since undergone surgery and is on the road to recovery, opening the door for an interim title.
This will be Kruger’s (7-3) third attempt at an international title after losing to Garreth McLellan and Yannick Bahati at EFC 28 and 49, respectively.
For Seabi (8-5), it will be his first shot at EFC gold and a chance to secure a third title for his Brothers In Arms gym in Pretoria, following in the footsteps of his DRC students Matunga Djikasa (current EFC heavyweight champion) and Ziko Makengele (former EFC welterweight champion).
The co-main event sees the return of one of SA’s most talented sons in Roedi Roets, who will take on the DRC’s former title contender in a featherweight bout.
Roets has long been tipped to become a champion and world-class mixed martial artist. After taking a break from active fighting while focusing more on coaching in the far east, he aims to stake his claim for gold after a three-year hiatus.
Kayambula will take his second shot at the 145-pound title after he lost to Brazil’s Reinaldo Ekson via D’arce choke at EFC 91.
Further down the main card, former two-time national flyweight and African champion Nicole van Wyk makes her much-anticipated professional debut when she faces Kenya’s hard-hitting Felista Mugo, also making her pro debut.
In the flyweight division, it’s a case of "somebody's zero has got to go" when Swellendam’s former two-time national flyweight champion Terence Balelo takes on Kgaugelo Moitshela.
Balelo and Moitshela are no strangers to each other as the two have competed against one another in the amateur ranks, where the former walked away victorious after a first-round knockout at the Mixed Martial Arts South African Amateur Championships in 2021.
EFC 103’s prelim card starts at 3.30pm before the main event follows at 7pm from Johannesburg.
@juliankiewietz
IOL Sport