iDale

Mixed Martial Arts is a fast growing sport both worldwide and in South Africa. Personally I think most of the guys who participate are a tad nuts, but it doesn’t stop me from attending events, supporting my favorites and getting into the whole vibe that goes hand-in-hand with events like EFC Africa.

Last night was the sixth EFC event I’ve attended and despite a few hiccups like power outages and controversial judgements by the referees, the matches were very impressive with many knockouts and highly technical submissions.

Alex Cheboub

The fight of the night went to the lightweight battle between William Bentley and Alex Cheboub. Cheboub was victorious late into the first round and also won submission of the night with his omoplata – a technical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu shoulder lock applied using a leg.

Paul Terblanche made an impressive return to the EFC by defeating Janus De Lange with a massive knockout eight seconds into the first round. Poor De Lange was out cold after catching a huge overhand right on the chin.

Janus De Lange during weigh-in. Bet he never knew he'd be knocked out then.

The most anticipated fight of the evening was between Lebanese star Abdallah Hamdan and no 1 ranked welterweight Adam Speechly. EFC says that “Hamdan showed off his exceptional striking, knocking out Speechly with a quick right cross”, but what I saw was very different… Speechly slipped and fall back on the ground at which point Hamdan delivered a hard punch to his face. Speechly appeared to be maintaining his defense (and consciousness) despite the ref stopping the fight – he was pretty pissed off by the decision!

The judges decision is final

Full contact mixed martial arts has rules like any other sport. And the purpose of the rules are to ensure safety for the people playing the game. So it’s quite controversial when a judge, who has the closest view of the action and the experience to back it up, is boo’d by the crowd for ending a contest he believes will result in serious injury.

In the last year one fighter was so severely hurt he spent quite a while comatose in hospital and to this day he is still recovering. His life will never be the same in one of the worst possible ways you can imagine.

So to all the steroid-chomping idiots who attend these events and heckle the referees while flexing their muscles and sporting their “official fighting gear”… get real and understand that walking around like a hero does not make you a professional mixed martial artist or referee. It makes you a naive idiot.

The EFC Hexagon

EFC 07

EFC Africa returns to the Coca-Cola Dome on 3 February 2011, featuring the headline bout between heavyweights Rico Hattingh and Calven Robinson. Visit the EFC web site for more info.

Take a look at EFC 05 where the title of heavyweight champion was won.

Last night I headed to EFC AFRICA 05 for their first Heavyweight Title fight. The event was huge and all the bouts leading up to the big one were great! As you can see below, the venue was setup in it’s usual word-class way with big screens above the hexagon, floor seating and bleachers – with the latter having the best view of the cage, screens and the vibe in my opinion.

Every empty seat was filled by the time the first bell rang!

An exciting element of the night was AG Cellular’s Lamborghini giveaway. Yes, they gave away a Lamborghini Gallardo in a raffle-style competition to some oke that purchased a cell phone at some point in the last several months. Spectacular prize if you ask me!

Our favorite ginger, Sias Du Plessis, announced the winner of the Lamborghini

The Fighting

Norman “Chef” Wessels defeated Bernardo “the Black Panther” Mikixi, winning the EFC AFRICA heavyweight title. After taking Mikixi to the ground, Wessels dominated the fight until he submitted the Black Panther by rear naked choke 4 mins and 17secs into the first round!

Heavyweight Champion: Norman "The Chef" Wessels. Picture source: www.smacktalk.co.za

They kept flashing text on the screen that said something like “When giants clash, the world shakes and the heavens open!”. I hadn’t a clue what they meant until Wessels wept with tears of joy after the fight. I’m super stoked as Mikixi is a serious contender and I was expecting him to win after witnessing the past victories he’s had at EFC.

Gareth McLellan

The grudge match between Garreth “Soldierboy” McLellan and Wade “G.O.A.T” Henderson lived up to the massive hype, with McLellan taking a submission victory late in the second round. But Henderson didn’t tap out! He was way too stubborn for that and rather passed out.

Fight of the Night was the welterweight bout between Remo “the Destroyer’ Ralph and Dino “the Lion” Bagattin and submission of the Night went to Nolan “the Real Deal” Swanepoel submitted Chad Hepburn with a heal hook.

Riveting stuff! Visit EFC AFRICA and get your tickets for the next event in December. My favorite fighter, Chris Bright, will be taking on Wentzel Nel!

EFC Africa, for those who don’t know, will be hosting their inaugural heavyweight title fight on Thursday 21st October at the Coca-Cola Dome between Bernardo “The Black Panther” Mikixi and Norman “Chef” Wessels.

The Black Panther and the Chef go head to head!

This is the fifth EFC Africa event and I must say I’ve watched it grow since its inception earlier this year. I promise that you can expect a world-class event featuring incredible lighting, huge video screens, an exhibition area and of course top quality MMA bouts!

“This is unquestionably the best fight card that we have ever seen in Africa” says EFC Africa director Cairo Howarth. “There are so many great fighters and match-ups, all coupled with the heavyweight title fight and Nel taking on Mazany from the USA. You do not want to miss this.”

The following fights have been confirmed for Thursday:

• Norman Wessels vs. Bernardo Mikixi
• Wentzel Nel vs. Dave Mazany (USA)
• Gareth McLellan vs. Wade Henderson
• Costa Ioannou vs. William Bentley
• Nolan Swanapoel vs. Chad Hepburn
• Remo Ralph vs. Dino Bagattin
• Terrance Griessel vs. Paul de Vos
• JP Joubert vs. Lance Ceronio
• Dallas Jakobi vs. Janus de Lange
• Gina Ifuki vs. Damon Smith
• Danie van Heerden vs. Jakes Else
• Leo Gloss vs. JD du Plessis

Get more information on www.efcafrica.com or just buy your tickets here.

I’ve never surfed in my life, but when I see photos like this I can only imagine the thrill these beach bums get when inside a a huge wave… mmm. Pretty!

Let the ads speak for themselves…

Champions of Europe and now champions of the world, Spain captured football’s Holy Grail for the first time with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands thanks to Andres Iniesta’s 116th-minute strike at Soccer City.

The question is… what the hell does it say on Andres Iniesta’s shirt???

And now it’s time for this guy to come out of the giant Jabulani ball.

Get this: Some guy named Adam Santarossa is being paid thousands of dollars to watch the World Cup inside a giant football!

He was selected by Adidas to spend the month-long tournament watching football, tweeting and writing blogs inside the 20 foot (six meter) diameter Jabulani ball. Sweet!

Santarossa has a well-stocked fridge, bunk bed, PlayStation 3, and laptop, and will get $2,600 for his trouble, along with the contents of the ball and three bags full of sports gear. “I had a bit of trouble at the start – it’s a bit difficult having people peer in through the windows 24-seven,” he said. “But it’s a pretty easy life. I’m going to be seeing if they can extend my lease.”

Can’t say I would take the same deal! I would rather stay in the house from Ferris Buellers Day off or step into this amazing Carla Ridge Palace!

First we told you about the JHB Mixed Martial Arts Invasion over here. Then we showed you how to throw one down and pack a real punch over here. Now it’s time to give you and your friends the opportunity to see it for yourselves, for free! Read on boys and girls…

What can I win?

iDale is giving away two great prizes in the coming week:

1. Two VIP tickets to the MMA Invasion event in JHB (valued at R600)
   Plus a case of Vitamin Water!
2. Four normal tickets to the MMA Invasion event in JHB (valued at R400)
   Plus a case of Vitamin Water!

“How do I enter” you ask?

Easy! Simply send an email to giveaways@idale.co.za with the following information in it:

• Name
• Surname
• Cell Number
• Email Address

Terms & Conditions

The draw is open to anyone, but bear in mind that you will need to get to and from the event which is help in JHB, South Africa. The draw is only for tickets and nothing else. The winners will be selected randomly 24 hours before the event. Winners will be notified by email and phone.

OK, tough guy, you think you know how to throw down? You could probably use a few tips on how to punch with maximum power. Here they are, courtesy of Ross Enamait, a boxing trainer and former boxer in Connecticut, USA.

In addition to being skills that could save your life one day, punches can make you leaner: You can put combinations of these punches together to make up your own shadowboxing cardio workout.

JAB

The jab is thrown with the lead hand. Begin with the knees slightly bent, feet staggered, chin down, and hands raised by the sides of your face (start from this basic fighting position before throwing any punch). Push off your back foot and snap the jab out quickly. The lead foot will slide forward slightly before impact. For maximum power, twist your arm in a corkscrew motion before landing.

CROSS

Also called the “straight right hand” (if you’re right-handed), it starts from the face and follows an imaginary straight line directly into the target. Drive and pivot from the rear foot, rotating the hips forcefully as your body weight shifts toward the front foot. Extend your right arm toward the target, snapping your wrist downward. On impact, the palm is down and the knuckles up.

HOOK

Shift your weight toward the rear leg as you rotate forcefully to that side and pivot inward on the ball of your front foot. At the same time, whip the lead arm toward the target in an L shape (the elbow should be bent about 90 degrees). Turn your hips into the punch. You can angle your hand one of two ways: vertically, so your palm faces you on impact, or horizontally, so the palm faces the floor (as shown).

UPPERCUT

Subtly shift your weight to the hip on the side of the rear leg. Dip that side’s shoulder as you crouch down a bit. Next, with the palm up and the arm bent 90 degrees, forcefully rotate toward the side of your lead leg and push off the ball of your back foot, driving the punch upward (aim for the chin of your imaginary opponent). On impact, your palm should face your chest.

Finally if you want to see how it’s done, come to the Mixed Martial Arts Invasion Event! You can event Win VIP Tickets courtesy of iDale!

We’ve all heard of or seen mixed martial arts from the guy with the bruised nose or on TV. But just like any sport, it’s just not the same hearing a second hand story or watching it on a little cube in the living room – you need to be there!

And now you can because iDale is giving away some tickets and goodies to the next MMA Invasion event… watch this space and check out the flyer…

That’s Saturday 5th December, just in case you missed it!

Visit the NHB (No Holds Barred South Africa) web site: www.nhbsouthafrica.co.za

Win Tickets!!!

Click here to see how you can win VIP tickets courtesy of iDale!