People of Wakanda! Stand up and praise Dalcha Lungiambula, the new king of the EFC!
The Cape Town based light heavyweight warrior did what he does best and stunned the MMA world when he overcame the odds and beat the undisputed and long-standing heavyweight champion, Andrew van Zyl.
The fight certainly lived up to its Super Fight status as Dalcha took on a much heavy opponent in a bout that the new champ deemed as “a big test to prove that I’m the real champ”.
In the build-up to EFC71 at Carnival City, Dalcha and his team were encouraging MMA to get behind him with reference to the Wakanda theme which originates from Marvel Comics.
It is written as a fictional country located in Sub-Saharan Africa (The same geographical area which is home to Dalcha’s beloved DRC). In the Marvel Comics world, it is also home to the world-renowned superhero, Black Panther.
And the Dalcha certainly fought like a super hero as he proved so many of us wrong.
Despite both men’s impressive records, critics and realists and expected Dalcha to bend under the pressure of the immense shift in weight, taking on a man who carried a new 20 kilogram advantage.
The first two rounds saw Dalcha, in true form, unleash those log-like arms on Andrew’s jaw.
Coming from a lighter division, his speed and judo would subdue any threat from his opponent and did not allow Andrew to get comfortable in any sort of top control.
In the third round, the fight continued in Dalcha’s favour as he collected points with quick punchs here and there, rationing his energy too as the weight factor was catching up with him. But the Light heavyweight did well to use his skill to avoid any dangerous blows and clinches from the big man.
It was only really in the fourth and fifth round that Andrew ‘One Gear’ came into himself and stepped up the pressure on a highly-fatigued Dalcha, he hunted a circling Dalcha relentlessly, finally landing smashing short range strikes, but it was too little, too late.
Dalcha took the title by split decision – one that most would instead see as a unanimous for the DRC’s hero.
Dalca now joins the Extreme Fighting Champions’s elite - Dricus Du Plessis and Amanda Lino – after earning two belts. He too stands at the top of the promotions champions.
But he has surely earned the fans respect and should now be labelled the “Black Panther” after overcoming all the adversity and moving forward even at the point of lung-burn.
The official EFC 71 results are:
Champion Dalcha took the EFC heavyweight title by defeated Andrew Van Zyl via split decision, becoming both the light heavyweight and heavyweight champion.
Nkazimulo Zulu defended his EFC flyweight title against Magno Alves via TKO (strikes) 4:18 into round 1.
Luthando Biko defeated Steven Goncalves via split decision.
Cedric Doyle defeated Trezegut Kanyinda via TKO (strikes) 3:46 into the third round.
Conrad Seabi defeated Pietie Coxen via split decision.
Sindile Manengela defeated Anicet Kanyeba via tapout (Rear Naked Choke) 3:44 into round 1.
Billy Oosthuizen defeated Jasen Van Der Merwe via TKO (strikes) 0:34 into round 1.
Warren King defeated TC Khusu via tapout (Heelhook) 2:42 into round 2.
Marcel Els defeated Rocky Ilunga via tapout (Rear Naked Choke) 1:27 into round 2.
Mark Kamba defeated Elvis Ngwalangwala via KO 0:42 into round 1.
Fafa Dwama defeated Asiashu Tshitamba via unanimous decision.
Mutuale Basambombo defeated Hein Pavier via KO 1:48 into round 1.