Extreme Fighting Championship

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Extreme Fighting Championship
IndustryMixed martial arts promotion
FoundedSeptember 2009
FoundersCairo Howarth
Silas Howarth
Calvin Howarth
Headquarters
Paulshof, Johannesburg
,
South Africa
Key people
Cairo Howarth
Silas Howarth
Calvin Howarth
Graeme Cartmell
Websitehttp://www.efcworldwide.com/

Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) is a South African mixed martial arts promotion company established since 2009. It is the largest MMA promotion company on the continent of Africa[1] and features on its roster professional fighters from across the world including the United States, Europe, South America, the UK, Australia, and Africa. The organization produces 10 live events annually. They currently have over 120 athletes exclusively contracted to the organisation.[2] EFC events are currently broadcast in over 120 countries around the world on numerous television networks in multiple languages.[3] To date, EFC has held 85 events and presided over approximately 982 matches.[4]

History[]

EFC was founded in 2009 by brothers Cairo Howarth, Silas Howarth, and Calvin Howarth[5] who are the present owners and along with Graeme Cartmell, who is the Vice President of Talent and Matchmaker, are the key people in the company. Prior to 2009, the Howarth brothers were great admirers of the UFC and would regularly watch UFC events through pay per view channels. This inspired them to create an African-based MMA promotion company modelled on the UFC which they named Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC). EFC's inaugural event took place at the Ticketpro Dome (formerly the Coca-Cola Dome) in Johannesburg, South Africa on November 10, 2009.[6][7] The first 7 events took place at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg. From the 8th event in 2011 onwards, the organization held events in other major cities throughout South Africa which to date includes Cape Town, Durban, Carnival City Casino, Sun City Casino, Pretoria and Johannesburg. When the demand to watch EFC events grew, they signed television broadcasting and streaming deals with a number of media organizations throughout the world. Today EFC has broadcasting deals in place with Multichoice Supersport, SABC Sport, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, CSI Sports, DAZN, Best4Sport, and IB Sports.[8]

Rules[]

Extreme Fighting Championship's rules are based upon the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. All bouts are contested over three, five-minute rounds, with the exception of five-round championship bouts. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds. As per the Unified Rules of MMA, Extreme Fighting Championship only allows competitors to fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Fighters must use approved light gloves (4-6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. The referee has the right to stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position nor working toward one) after a verbal warning.

Match outcome[]

Matches usually end via:

  • Submission: a fighter taps on the mat or his opponent three times (or more) or verbally submits.
  • Knockout: a fighter falls from a legal blow and is either unconscious or unable to immediately continue.
  • Technical Knockout: stoppage of the fight by the referee if it is determined a fighter cannot "intelligently defend" himself or by ringside doctor due to injury.
  • Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
    • unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for one fighter),
    • split decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with the third for the other),
    • majority decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with one for a draw),
    • unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw),
    • majority draw (two judges score a draw).
    • split draw (the total points for each fighter is equal)

A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical draw, disqualification, forfeit or no contest.

Judging criteria[]

The ten-point must system is used for all EFC bouts; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or less. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points. The decision is announced at the end of the match, but the judge's scorecards are not announced.

Fouls[]

The following are considered fouls in EFC bouts:

  1. Butting with the head.
  2. Eye gouging of any kind.
  3. Biting.
  4. Hair pulling.
  5. Groin attacks of any kind.
  6. Fish hooking, gouging as in self-defense and some martial arts.
  7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
  8. Small joint manipulation.
  9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head. (see Rabbit punch)
  10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow. (see Elbow (strike))
  11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
  12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
  13. Grabbing the clavicle.
  14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
  15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
  16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
  17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
  18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck. (see piledriver (professional wrestling))
  19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
  20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
  21. Spitting at an opponent.
  22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
  23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
  24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
  25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
  26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
  27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
  28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
  29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
  30. Interference by the corner.
  31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.

EFC champions[]

Class Upper weight limit Champion Event Date Source
Heavyweight 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) South Africa Thabani Mndebela
def. Matunga Djikasa		 EFC 88
EFC Performance Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa		 August 14, 2021
Light Heavyweight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) Vacant
Middleweight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) Vacant
Welterweight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) Zimbabwe Themba Gorimbo
def. Luke Michael		 EFC 82
Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa		 September 28, 2019 [9][10]
Lightweight 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) Vacant
Featherweight 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) Brazil Reinaldo Ekson
def. Igeu Kabesa		 EFC 86
EFC Performance Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa		 June 12, 2021
Bantamweight 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) Zimbabwe Sylvester Chipfumbu
def. Faeez Jacobs		 EFC 85
EFC Performance Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa		 May 8, 2021 [11][12]
Flyweight 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) South Africa Luthando Biko
def. Nkazimulo Zulu		 EFC 91
EFC Performance Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa		 December 3, 2021
Women's Bantamweight 134 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) Vacant
Women's Flyweight 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) Vacant
Women's Strawweight 115 lb (52 kg; 8.2 st) Vacant

Championship history[]

Heavyweight World Championship[]

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa Ruan Potts
def. Norman Wessels 		EFC 9
Johannesburg, South Africa 		July 30, 2011

1. def. Andrew Van Zyl at EFC 11 on November 10, 2011
2. def. Bernardo Mikixi at EFC 16 on October 19, 2012

2 South Africa Andrew Van Zyl EFC 18
Johannesburg, South Africa 		March 01, 2013

1. def. Sors Grobbelaar at EFC 23 on September 12, 2013

3 South Africa Ruan Potts (2) EFC 26
Johannesburg, South Africa 		December 12, 2013
Potts vacated the title on May 10, 2014 after signing with the UFC
4 South Africa Brendon Groenewald
def. Christophe Walravens 		EFC 35
Cape Town, South Africa 		November 06, 2014
5 South Africa Andrew Van Zyl (2) EFC 39
Cape Town, South Africa 		May 07, 2015
6 France Cyril Asker EFC 44
Johannesburg, South Africa 		October 03, 2015
Asker vacated the title on April 10, 2016 after signing with the UFC
7 South Africa Danie van Heerden
def. Brendon Groenewald 		EFC 48
Cape Town, South Africa 		April 22, 2016
van Heerden vacated the title on October 15, 2016 after leaving EFC
8 South Africa Andrew Van Zyl (3)
def. Elvis Moyo 		EFC 54
Sun City, South Africa 		October 15, 2016

1. def. Wessel Mostert at EFC 61 on July 08, 2017
2. def. Jared Vanderaa at EFC 66 on December 16, 2017

9 Democratic Republic of the Congo Dalcha Lungiambula EFC 71
Johannesburg, South Africa 		June 23, 2018
Lungiambula vacated the title on April 10, 2016 after signing with the UFC
- United States Jared Vanderaa
def. Ruan Potts for interim title 		EFC 76
Pretoria, South Africa 		December 08, 2018
10 United States Jared Vanderaa
def. Ricky Misholas 		EFC 77
Pretoria, South Africa 		March 16, 2019
Vanderaa vacated the title on November 4, 2020 after signing with the UFC
11 South Africa Thabani Mndebela
def. Matunga Djikasa 		EFC 88
Johannesburg, South Africa 		August 14, 2021

Light Heavyweight World Championship[]

186 to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa J.P. Joubert
def. Norman Wessels 		EFC 15
Johannesburg, South Africa 		July 27, 2012
Joubert vacated the title after retiring.
2 South Africa Gideon Drotschie
def. Danie van Heerden 		EFC 20
Johannesburg, South Africa 		June 27, 2013 1. def. Fraser Opie at EFC 25 on November 07, 2013
3 South Africa Norman Wessels EFC 35
Cape Town, South Africa 		November 06, 2014

1. def. Dalcha Lungiambula at EFC 42 on August 08, 2015

- Democratic Republic of the Congo Dalcha Lungiambula
def. Tumelo Maphutha for interim title 		EFC 52
Cape Town, South Africa 		August 05, 2016
Title was vacated on March 4, 2017 when Wessels retired. The interim champion Dalcha Lungiambula become the champion.
4 Democratic Republic of the Congo Dalcha Lungiambula
promoted to undisputed champion 		EFC 52
Cape Town, South Africa 		August 05, 2016

1. def. Alan Baudot at EFC 61 on July 08, 2017
2. def. Stuart Austin at EFC 65 on November 04, 2017

Lungiambula vacated the title on June 29, 2019 after signing with the UFC
5 Cameroon Simon Biyong
def. Quinton Roussow 		EFC 82
Brakpan, South Africa 		September 28, 2019
Biyong vacated the title on October 10, 2020 after signing with the Bellator MMA

Middleweight World Championship[]

171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa Garreth McLellan
def. Jacques Joubert 		EFC 8
Johannesburg, South Africa 		April 14, 2011
2 South Africa Jeremy Smith EFC 12
Johannesburg, South Africa 		March 02, 2012

1. def. Darren Daniel at EFC 17 on November 23, 2012

3 South Africa Garreth McLellan EFC 24
Johannesburg, South Africa 		October 10, 2013

1. def. JP Kruger at EFC 28 on March 27, 2014
2. def. at EFC 33 on August 30, 2014

McLellan vacated the title on April 11, 2015 when he signed with the UFC
4 South Africa Liam Cleland
def. Michiel Opperman 		EFC 41
Johannesburg, South Africa 		July 11, 2015
Cleland vacated the title on May 13, 2016 after he retired
5 England Yannick Bahati
def. JP Kruger 		EFC 49
Johannesburg, South Africa 		May 13, 2016

1. def. David Buirski at EFC 56 on December 09, 2016

6 South Africa EFC 61
Johannesburg, South Africa 		August 19, 2017
Du Plessis vacated on April 14, 2018 he signed with KSW
- South Africa Brendan Lesar
def. Garreth McLellan for interim title 		EFC 80
Sibaya, South Africa 		June 29, 2019

Welterweight World Championship[]

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa Dallas Jakobi
def. Adam Speechly 		EFC 10
Johannesburg, South Africa 		September 01, 2011
2 Brazil Jadyson Costa EFC 13
Johannesburg, South Africa 		April 13, 2012
3 South Africa Michiel Opperman EFC 16
Johannesburg, South Africa 		October 19, 2012
4 South Africa Dino Bagattin EFC 23
Johannesburg, South Africa 		September 12, 2013
5 Nigeria Henry Fadipe EFC 29
Johannesburg, South Africa 		May 01, 2014
6 South Africa Adam Speechly EFC 32
Johannesburg, South Africa 		August 07, 2014
7 South Africa David Buirski EFC 37
Boksburg, South Africa 		February 21, 2015

1. def. Martin van Staden at EFC 46 on December 12, 2015

Title was vacated on July 03, 2014 when Burisku moved up to Middleweight.
8 South Africa
def. Martin van Staden 		EFC 50
Sun City, South Africa 		June 17, 2016
Du Plessis vacated on April 14, 2018 he signed with KSW
9 Democratic Republic of the Congo Gunter Kalunda Ngunza
def. Maurício da Rocha Jr. 		EFC 73
Sun City, South Africa 		September 07, 2018

1. def. Martin van Staden at EFC 46 on December 12, 2015

Ngunza vacated on April 25, 2019 he signed with ONE
10 Zimbabwe Themba Gorimbo
def. Luke Michael 		EFC 82
Brakpan, South Africa 		September 28, 2019

1. def. Lyle Karam at EFC 84 on March 14, 2020

Lightweight World Championship[]

146 to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa Wentzel Nel
def. Leo Gloss 		EFC 3
Johannesburg, South Africa 		May 08, 2010
2 South Africa Costa Ioannou EFC 8
Johannesburg, South Africa 		April 14, 2011

1. def. Alex Cheboub at EFC 11 on November 10, 2011
2. def. Adam Speechly at EFC 14 on June 01, 2012
3. def. Leon Mynhardt at EFC 17 on November 23, 2012

3 South Africa Don Madge EFC 20
Johannesburg, South Africa 		June 27, 2013
3 South Africa Leon Mynhardt EFC 25
Johannesburg, South Africa 		November 07, 2013

1. def. Frederich Naumann at EFC 27 on February 27, 2014
2. def. Sibusiso Mdoko at EFC 34 on October 02, 2014
3. def. Don Madge at EFC 37 on February 21, 2015
4. def. Themba Gorimbo at EFC 44 on October 03, 2015

4 United States Dave Mazany EFC 51
Johannesburg, South Africa 		July 15, 2016

1. def. Leon Mynhardt at EFC 55 on November 11, 2016

5 South Africa Don Madge (2) EFC 58
Cape Town, South Africa 		April 08, 2017
Title was vacated on October 27, 2018 when Madge signed with the UFC.
6 South Africa Martin van Staden
def. Gavin Hughes 		EFC 68
Cape Town, South Africa 		March 31, 2018
7 United States Dave Mazany (2) EFC 72
Cape Town, South Africa 		August 11, 2018
Title was vacated on March 16, 2019 when Mazany retired.
8 England Joe Cummins
def. Martin van Staden 		EFC 77
Pretoria, South Africa 		March 16, 2019
- Democratic Republic of the Congo Matunga Djikasa
def. Anicet Kanyeba for interim title 		EFC 86
Johannesburg, South Africa 		June 12, 2021

Featherweight World Championship[]

136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Angola Demarte Pena
def. Leo Gloss 		EFC 10
Johannesburg, South Africa 		September 01, 2011

1. def. Wesley Hawkey at EFC 14 on June 01, 2012
2. def. Terrence Griessel at EFC 16 on October 19, 2012
3. def. Wentzel Nel at EFC 19 on April 19, 2013
4. def. Abdul Hassan at EFC 21 on July 25, 2013
5. def. Alain Ilunga at EFC 24 on October 10, 2013

Title was vacated on July 03, 2014 when Pena moved down to Bantamweight.
2 South Africa Boyd Allen
def. Barend Nienaber 		EFC 32
Johannesburg, South Africa 		August 07, 2014

1. def. Wade Groth at EFC 36 on December 11, 2014
2. def. Wesley Hawkey at EFC 38 on April 04, 2015

3 Scotland Danny Henry EFC 44
Johannesburg, South Africa 		October 03, 2015
4 Democratic Republic of the Congo Igeu Kabesa EFC 47
Johannesburg, South Africa 		March 05, 2016

1. def. Hanru Botha at EFC 56 on December 09, 2016

5 Scotland Danny Henry (2) EFC 57
Johannesburg, South Africa 		March 04, 2017
Title was vacated on July 16, 2017 when Henry signed with the UFC.
6 Democratic Republic of the Congo Igeu Kabesa (2)
def. Pierre Botha 		EFC 62
Johannesburg, South Africa 		August 19, 2017

1. def. Calum Murrie at EFC 74 on October 06, 2018
2. def. Karlo Caput at EFC 79 on May 04, 2019

7 Brazil Reinaldo Ekson EFC 86
Johannesburg, South Africa 		June 12, 2021

1. def. August Kayambala at EFC 91 on December 4, 2021

Bantamweight World Championship[]

126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa Nkazimulo Zulu
def. Charlie Weyer 		EFC 27
Johannesburg, South Africa 		February 27, 2014
2 Angola Demarte Pena EFC 31
Johannesburg, South Africa 		July 03, 2014

1. def. Francois Groenewald at EFC 34 on October 2, 2014
2. def. Cedric Doyle at EFC 41 on July 11, 2015
3. NC. Irshaad Sayed at EFC 55 on November 11, 2016
4. NC. Irshaad Sayed at EFC 66 on December 16, 2017

- South Africa Irshaad Sayed
def. Cedric Doyle for interim title 		EFC 48
Cape Town, South Africa 		April 22, 2016
Title was vacated on December 16, 2017 when Pena was suspended 4 years by WADA for testing positive for steroids at EFC 55. The results of his two bouts were changed to No Contest[13]
3 South Africa JP Buys
def. Philippe Rouch 		EFC 69
Johannesburg, South Africa 		April 28, 2018

1. def. Luthando Biko at EFC 78 on April 13, 2019

- South Africa Luthando Biko
def. Cal Ellenor for interim title 		EFC 75
Cape Town, South Africa 		November 03, 2018
- South Africa Faeez Jacobs
def. Nkazimulo Zulu for interim title 		EFC 81
Johannesburg, South Africa 		August 10, 2019
Title was vacated on November 17, 2020 when Buys signed with the UFC.
4 South Africa Faeez Jacobs
promoted to undisputed champion 		- -
5 Zimbabwe Sylvester Chipfumbu EFC 85
Johannesburg, South Africa 		May 8, 2021

Flyweight World Championship[]

116 to 125 lbs (53 to 67 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa Nkazimulo Zulu
def. Craig Ninow 		EFC 43
Durban, South Africa 		August 27, 2015

1. def. Sylvester Chipfumbu at EFC 62 on August 19, 2017
2. def. Magno Alves at EFC 71 on June 23, 2018
3. def. Gary Joshua at EFC 75 on November 03, 2018

- South Africa JP Buys
def. Baldwin Mdlalose for interim title 		EFC 54
Sun City, South Africa 		October 15, 2016
2 England Jake Hadley EFC 78
Cape Town, South Africa 		April 13, 2019
Title was vacated on September 27, 2019 when Hadley signed with the Bellator MMA.
3 South Africa Nkazimulo Zulu (2)
def. Luthando Biko 		EFC 89
Johannesburg, South Africa 		September 10, 2021
4 South Africa Luthando Biko EFC 91
Johannesburg, South Africa 		December 4, 2021

Women's Flyweight World Championship[]

116 pounds (53 kg) to 125 pounds (57 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 South Africa Amanda Lino
def. Jaqauline Trosee 		EFC 60
Durban, South Africa 		June 10, 2017

1. def. Rizlen Zouak at EFC 70 on May 26, 2018

2 France Manon Fiorot EFC 83
Pretoria, South Africa 		December 14, 2019
Title was vacated on January 20, 2021 when Fiorot signed with the UFC.

Women's Strawweight World Championship[]

Under 115 pounds (52 kg)

No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Italy Chiara Penco
def. Danella Eliasov 		EFC 67
Johannesburg, South Africa 		March 10, 2018
2 Poland Karolina Wójcik EFC 76
Pretoria, South Africa 		December 08, 2018
Title was vacated on June 8, 2019 when Wójcik signed with Venator FC.

Notable athletes and alumni[]

  • Garreth McLellan: Former EFC Middleweight champion[14] who was signed by the UFC in 2015.[15] He competed in 5 UFC bouts from April 2015 until March 2017.
  • Ruan Potts: Former 2 times EFC Heavyweight champion[16] who was signed by the UFC in 2014[17] He competed in 3 UFC bouts from May 2014 until February 2015.
  • Cyril Asker: Former EFC Heavyweight champion[18] who was signed by the UFC in 2016.[19] To date he has competed in 5 UFC bouts.
  • Danny Henry: Former 2 times EFC Featherweight champion[20] who was signed by the UFC in 2017.[21] In his debut match at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio he earned a Fight of the night bonus. To date he has competed in 4 UFC bouts.
  • Dalcha Lungiambula: Former EFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight champion[22] who was invited to compete in the UFC in 2019.[23] To date he has competed in 3 UFC bouts.
  • : Former EFC Middleweight and Welterweight champion who was invited to compete in the UFC in September 2020. He made his promotional debut against Markus Perez on 11 October 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179[24] and won via a TKO in the first round.[25] Du Plessis was scheduled to face Trevin Giles on March 20, 2021 at UFC on ESPN 21, but had to withdraw from the event after being refused entry to the US due to Covid related restrictions placed on South Africans.[26]
  • Jared Vanderaa: Former EFC Heavyweight champion who was signed to the UFC in November 2020 after competing in the fourth season of Dana White's Contender Series. He was scheduled to fight Sergey Spivak at UFC 256 on December 12, 2020.[27] However, Vanderaa tested positive to Covid 19 and was therefore removed from the event.[28] The bout was re-scheduled for UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on February 20, 2021. Vanderaa lost via TKO in the 2nd round.
  • Manon Fiorot Former EFC women's Lightweight champion and winner of the EFC's second season of the reality program - The Fighter. She was signed to the UFC in December 2020 and made her debut against Victoria Leonardo at UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Magny on January 20, 2021. Fiorot won via TKO in the second round.

Other EFC athletes signed to the UFC[]

  • Don Madge. Former 2 times EFC Lightweight champion[29] who was invited to compete in the UFC in 2018.[30][31] In his debut match at UFC Fight Night 138 he earned a "Performance of the night" bonus with a knockout via a head kick. To date he has competed in 2 UFC bouts - UFC Fight Night 138 and UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier. Madge was scheduled to face Nasrat Haqparast at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad on March 13, 2021 but had to withdraw from the event after being refused entry to the US due to Covid related restrictions placed on South Africans.[32]
  • JP Buys. Former EFC Flyweight and Bantamweight champion[33] who was invited to compete in UFC owner Dana White 's Tuesday Night Contender Series in August 2017[34] and again in the fourth season in November 2020. After beating his opponent in the final fight of the fourth season on November 17, 2020, Buys was signed to the UFC.[35] He is scheduled to make his UFC debut against Bruno Gustavo da Silva at UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland on March 20. 2021.
  • Nkazimulo Zulu. Former two times EFC Flyweight champion[36] and current EFC competitor who was invited in 2016 to compete in The Ultimate Fighter which was produced by the UFC and Fox Sports 1. Zulu competed on The Ultimate Fighter Season 24, Opening Round, Day 2.[37]

Reality shows[]

The Fighter: Season 1[]

EFC launched a reality TV show on October 14, 2017 called The Fighter.[38][39] Housed in a villa in Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 male MMA Middleweight prospects from around the world lived and trained together, as well as competed against one another for a multiple fight contract and a guaranteed EFC title fight. They were split into two teams each coached by an experienced EFC athlete. The Fighter was broadcast on global television in 10 one-hour episodes. It was concluded on December 16, 2017 at EFC 66 with The Fighter title bout taking place between the two finalists followed by a bout between the two coaches[40]

Season Date Weight class Winner Runner-up Source
The Fighter: Season 1 October 14, 2017 Middleweight Brendan Lesar Ibrahima Mane [41]

The Fighter: Season 2[]

Following the success and positive reception to The Fighter: Season 1, EFC launched The Fighter: Season 2[42][43] on April 26, 2019. It followed the same format as Season 1 but with 10 female MMA Flyweight athletes from around the world instead. They were housed in Rosebank, South Africa, where they trained together and competed against one another in a quest to win a multiple fight contract and a guaranteed EFC title fight. As with Season 1, the competitors were split into two teams each coached by an experienced EFC athlete. Season 2 was also broadcast on global television in 10 one-hour episodes. It was concluded on June 29, 2019 at EFC 80 with The Fighter Season 2 title bout taking place between the two finalists followed by a bout between the two coaches.[44]

Season Date Weight class Winner Runner-up Source
The Fighter: Season 2 April 26, 2019 Flyweight Manon Fiorot Mellony Geugjes [45][46]

Subsidiary companies[]

EFC owns the following companies.

  • EFC Gym
  • EFC Performance Institute

Upcoming events[]

Following EFC 84, EFC 85 was scheduled to take place on April 4, 2020 at Grand West Casino in Cape Town. However, in early March, the President of South Africa - Cyril Ramaphosa - restricted public gatherings to less than 100 people due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was then relocated to the much smaller venue of the EFC Performance Institute and was to take place in front of a small group of spectators while being broadcast on all usual channels.[47] On March 23, 2020, President Ramaphosa announced a nationwide 21 day level five lockdown prohibiting all such events among other restrictions from taking place until April 16, 2020.[48] The lockdown was extended until May 1 after which it was again extended with level four restrictions.[49] EFC 85 has been postponed until further notice.[50]

References[]

  1. ^ "SABC STRIKES HISTORIC DEAL WITH EFC". MMA Fighting. January 24, 2017.
  2. ^ Strickl, Nick (2017-07-14). "Mayweather vs. McGregor: LIVE London press conference". Cage Pages. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  3. ^ "EFC - Inverleigh Broadcasting Corp". Inverleigh.com. 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  4. ^ Sherdog.com. "Extreme Fighting Championship (Africa) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  5. ^ Sibiya, Silver (March 26, 2017). "Keeping it in the family". Sport.
  6. ^ "EFC 01".
  7. ^ "EFC Africa - Extreme Fighting Championship Africa 1". Sherdog.
  8. ^ "Broadcast Schedule".
  9. ^ "EFC 82: Gorimbo and Biyong make history". Fight Site. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  10. ^ "Biyong & Gorimbo Win EFC Titles". Fitworldsport.com. Nov 28, 2019.
  11. ^ "Zimbabwe's Sylvester Chipfumbu Wins EFC Bantamweight Title". NewZimbabwe.com. 2021-05-09. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  12. ^ "Sylvester Chipfumbu shows composure to win EFC bantamweight title". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  13. ^ "EFC's Pena Barred For Four Years". January 11, 2018.
  14. ^ SAPA Reporter (2013-11-10). "Gareth McLellan regains the EFC Middleweight title". citizen.co.za. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  15. ^ Simon, Zane (2014-12-10). "UFC signs EFCA champ Garreth McLellan". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  16. ^ "Potts reclaims EFC title from Van Zyl". eNCA. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  17. ^ Simon, Zane (2014-02-10). "UFC signs South African MMA champ Ruan Potts". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
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