Zambian fighter Ken “The Takeover” Sekeletu claimed a dominant victory in the main event of EFC 121 on Thursday, defeating South Africa’s Roedie Roets in just one round to win the featherweight championship.
Roets started aggressively, attempting to wrestle Sekeletu to the ground, but the Zambian stayed composed and fought back. He landed powerful elbow strikes to the side of Roets’ head, leaving the champion visibly hurt by the end of the round.
Roets later argued that he had been hit illegally on the back of the head, but replays showed otherwise. The damage was too much for him to continue into the second round, which meant Sekeletu was crowned the new featherweight champion—making history as Zambia’s first-ever MMA champion.
Unfortunately, Sekeletu won’t have much time to celebrate, as he is set to face his next opponent soon. Next up was an exciting co-main event bout between Ayanda Zwane and Billy “The Kid” Oosthuizen.
Zwane controlled the fight for the first two rounds, causing serious cuts on Oosthuizen. However, in a dramatic turnaround, Oosthuizen took Zwane to the ground in the third round and locked in a rear-naked choke, forcing Zwane to tap out. Oosthuizen’s comeback victory puts him in line for a shot at the title.
Several fighters, including Lihle Ngamntwini, Nicolaas Vermaak, Mlungisi Mbizane, Oosthuizen, and Zwane, were awarded bonuses for performance of the Night, while the Fight of the Night honours went to Bandu and Tafsir Ba for their exciting bout at EFC 121.
The focus shifts to the heavyweight title fight on April 10, where French champion Anthony Morel will defend his belt against Zimbabwe’s Elvis Moyo, Fans eagerly awaiting another thrilling showdown in the EFC arena. Other fights on the card include:
Mfanafuthi Ngobese bt Tebatso Matlhobowane (Rd 2 by Guillotine)
Ash Zola bt Godfrey Mkhwanazi (Rd 2 by RNC)
Nicolaas Vermaak bt Mlungisi Mbizane (Split Decision)
Mark Kamba bt Jaden van der Merwe (Rd 1 Knockout)
Jesse Schaper bt Nkosi Doyisa (Rd 1 by RNC)
Chadrack Yemba bt Tapiwa Katikati (Rd 1 by Anaconda)
Gasmire Diatta bt Sizwe Mnikathi (Unanimous Decision)
Lihle Ngamntwini bt Salahuddin Plaatjies (Split Decision)
Diego Bandu bt Mouhamed Tafsir Ba (Unanimous Decision)
Musa Sethwape bt Lucky Magekha (Split Decision)
Kaleka Kabanda bt Hanru Botha (Rd 1 by TKO)
Billy Oosthuizen bt Ayanda Zwane (Rd 3 by RNC)
Ken Sekeletu bt Roedie Roets (Rd 2 by Verbal Submission)
