CRUNCH TIME AT EFC CAPE TOWN

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Cape Town, South Africa – The race to the EFC light heavyweight title took another electrifying step forward at the EFC 45 official weigh-in today, held in the Market Hall at GrandWest Casino.

Four athletes are in play to earn a shot at notorious champion Norman ‘Chef’ Wessels. Former champion Gideon Drotschie faces the phenomenal Congolese born Champion Dalcha, and power punching Tumelo Maphutha takes on former heavyweight champion Ruan Potts.

Competition between the four is fierce. Drotschie suffered a controversial loss to Wessels and an even more controversial reversal of an immediate rematch after his bout with Maphutha. Potts is itching to repeat his 2011 victory over Wessels, who spurred by that loss has remoulded himself into a terrifying champion. It’s inches only that separates the four.

All four men hit their weight perfectly. A deep respect was shown between Maphutha and Potts, both legends of the organisation. Potts’ recent drop down to the light heavyweight division puts them in competition for the first time.

Ever the entertainer, Drotschie played to the crowd by mimicking Dalcha’s now famous weigh-in antics, an on-stage shuffle that spawned a host of viral Youtube videos at the last Mother City event.

Completing the trio of top contender fights, former heavyweight champion and Cape Town local Brendon Groenewald faced off against the Polish giant Tomasz Kowalkowski. Groenewald has a massive task ahead of him tomorrow, taking on the massive reach and power of the Pole who is riding high after a brutal first round knee to the jaw knockout win.

The Market Hall rang to the shouts of strong support for all of the athletes, particularly from the passionate Congolese community who chanted ‘Strong as a rock, strong as a rock!’ to their hero Champion Dalcha. Heartwarmingly, the crowd adopted British athlete Yannick Bahati as one of their own, who was born in the Congolese town of Goma.

‘It’s lifted my spirits a huge amount,’ said an elated Bahati after. ‘I didn’t expect that coming to a foreign country. It feels like my home away from home.’

Only one athlete failed to make weight. Conrad Seabi hit the scale at 74.3kg, making him 4.3kg overweight. His opponent Robert Simbowe has agreed to fight Seabi at his heavier weight.

‘Forget about me, forget about everything. If you can’t respect me, at least respect yourself as a professional athlete,’ said a

n incensed Simbowe. The full EFC 45 weigh-in results were as follows:

Bout 1 : Heavyweight bout

Ivan Strydom 112.80kg vs. Gary Smit 106.60kg

Bout 2 : Lightweight bout

Conrad Seabi 74.30 kg vs. Robert Simbowe 70.00kg

Bout 3 : Bantamweight bout

Francois Groenewald 60.55kg vs. Martin De Beer 60.15kg

Bout 4 : Welterweight bout

Kaleka Kabanda 76.40kg vs. Luke Michael 77.00kg

Bout 5: Welterweight bout

Francois Kabulu 77.00kg vs. Cameron Pritchard 76.60kg

Bout 6 : Flyweight bout

Kirsty Davis 56.85kg vs. Shana Power 57.00kg

Bout 7 : Heavyweight bout

Knife Didier 109.75kg vs. Danie van Heerden 119kg

Bout 8 : Welterweight bout

Joe Cummins 76.75kg vs. Bruno Mukulu 76.80kg

Bout 9 : Catchweight bout

Warren Allison 89.55kg vs. Yannick Bahati 89.30kg

Bout 10 : Light Heavyweight bout

Tumelo Maphutha 92.30kg vs. Ruan Potts 92.30kg

Bout 11 : Heavyweight bout

Brendon Groenewald 109.35kg vs. Tomasz Kowalkowski 107kg

Bout 12 : Light Heavyweight bout

Champion Dalcha 92.60kg vs. Gideon Drotschie 91.85kg

EFC 45: Drotschie vs. Dalcha, presented by BetXchange.com, and takes place at GrandWest, Cape Town, on Saturday 07 November 2015. Tickets available at www.computicket.com.

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