Elite combat sports star and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Dricus du Plessis proved once again to the world what South Africa is capable of following his win over Nigeria’s former two-time champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in Perth last weekend.
Tomorrow at the Sunningdale Sports Complex in Milnerton, the future of Mzansi will be on display as 22 upcoming Muay Thai practitioners will buckle up and throw down at one of Africa’s elite Thai boxing shows, Thaiholics Fight Promotions.
The show has played an important role in galvanising the “art of eight limbs” scene in South Africa, constantly offering high-level productions and platforms for athletes to grow on and move onto the international scene.
Some of Mzansi’s best Muay Thai specialists and world-renowned stars, including Nedo Gomba, Karl Bergemann and Shane Deacon, have and still compete under the TFP brand, highlighting the promotion’s significance and the weight it carries within African combat sports.
The show has been responsible for attracting decent crowds and importantly, attracted more interest from casual fans and people who have never been to fighting shows before.
TFP’s growth has also attracted many fighters, and with the interest shown, the promotion aims to shore up its weight classes and rankings system from the bottom up.
With that said, this show, dubbed ‘Day Break’, will be one of the first TFP daytime shows focused on building the amateur and pro-am rankings.
While the show may focus on development fights, TFP boss Nicholas Radley has reassured fans they will not be left wanting.
The 11-fight card will also include three SA title fights. The first title fight will be a World Muay Thai Organisation (WMO) super-bantamweight bout between current champion Verné Prinsloo and Miné Graaf.
In the second championship bout of the night, Cape Town’s Michael Bezuidenhout puts his super-lightweight (WMO) title on the line against Johannesburg’s Richard Spagnolo.
The main event will see PFA’s champion Justin February face No 1 contender Phillip Cronje in a WMO middleweight title fight.
The show will include one of South Africa’s most successful junior combat sports stars, as 2022 Immaf (International Mixed Martial Arts Federation) champion Nuha Shah makes her TFP debut this weekend.
High school pupil Shah has proved she is en route to becoming a big name in African combat sports.
With a strong grappling base, Shah now aims to brush up on stand-up, and competing at TFP will stand her in good stead as she continues to build towards becoming a well-rounded athlete.
* Doors open at 11.30am tomorrow. For more details, stay tuned to the Thaiholics Fight Promotion and MzansiMMA Instagram pages.