Tumisang ‘The President’ Madiba is flying higher than Air Force One at the moment.
Firstly, he just came off an impressive ‘fight bonus’ win over DRC’s Serge ‘Last Number’ Kasanda at EFC77 on Saturday night.
Secondly, he signed a massive deal with Benoni City VW, and last but not least, he’s loving life with his beautiful daughter Azania.
Now, as Swizz Beats raps, it’s ‘On to the next one’.
And that next one for ‘The President’ is Faeez ‘The Troublemaker’ Jacobs.
“Without beating about the bush, I think Madiba vs Jacobs part two is the right fight. I would really love to fight Faeez in Cape Town, man,” says Madiba, who lost to Jacobs at EFC72 via rear-naked choke in round one.
“The timing is perfect. I am on a winning streak now. He is too, including a victory over myself. The first fight did not live up to its expectations from my side,” says Madiba.
“I was training for only six weeks after a long layoff. So, he took advantage of the moment – congrats to him.
“If he really wants to make himself a legit call for contender-ship, he has to go through me,” says Madiba, who tested positive for Carboxy-THC, or more commonly known as cannabis after his fight against Irshaad Sayed at EFC 58 in Cape Town.
“I said it with the Sylvester (Chipfumbu, his new teammate) fight as well, the past two years have been very tough.
“It included changing nappies and making bottles for my nephew and daughter, and with my suspension, I was not really training.
“It didn’t make sense to me to be training while I was wasn’t going to be earning any money, because I was already struggling to make money.
“But now I am back in the game and I am in it to win it, you know? I have that momentum now (two back to back wins), he (Faeez) has momentum now, too.
“I think it’s time to collide. Yes, he has beaten some people, but I am the biggest name he has beaten.
“He has to go through me to get that title because there is nobody more deserving.”
Madiba (9-6-0) and Faeez are certainly of the biggest names in the bantamweight division.
A shot a the title for either should come at no surprise, once Luthando Biko (interim bantamweight champ) and JP Buys (bantamweight champ) unify the belt at EFC78 in Cape Town next month.
At EFC77, Madiba punched above his weight against Kasanda after his originally scheduled bantamweight bout was called off after Devon Cronje pulled out due to an alleged meniscus tear.
Madiba then stepped up to lightweight.
“It was very challenging man, I came in at like 67 kilos before the fight at lightweight, basically the same weight I would have fought at bantamweight, Serge was a big guy,” says Madiba, who eventually finished Kasanda in the second round via Rear Naked Choke.
🇿🇦 @TumisangMadiba vs @lastnumberEFC🇨🇩 #EFC77 pic.twitter.com/amdzezjJsw
— EFC (@EFCworldwide) March 15, 2019
“A big, big shout out to Serge for showing up. I am also so grateful to my crew, especially Sylvester, coach Demarte Pena and my good friend and colleague, Conrad ‘Cagewise’ Seabi’ who helped me through the fight.
“Thank you to Benoni City VW, a great branch out in the East Rand who gave me a sponsored car as I will be endorsing their brand.
“I now will also have some wheels to get to move around and make training easier. It’s a great achievement for myself and the sport.
“These are the kind of businesses we need to grow sport because it legitimises what we do, and when you have big corporates coming on board with sports such as MMA, I think that is big, man.”
Thank you @timesquareza! Next stop @GrandWestSA for #EFC78 on Saturday 13 April! #EFC77 pic.twitter.com/DTovfiuau8
— EFC (@EFCworldwide) March 16, 2019
EFC 77 Results
Stephan de la Ray defeated Aly Kalambay via unanimous decision
Trezegeut Kanyinda defeated Benjamin Mangala via TKO (Punches) 0:55 into round 2
Asiashu Tshitamba defeated Orlando Machaba via TKO (Punches) 3:19 into round 2
Marcel Els defeated Nerick Simoes via tapout due to strikes (punches) 2:03 into round 1
Tumisang Madiba defeated Serge Kasanda via submission (Rear Naked Choke) 0:27 into round 2
Pierre Botha defeated Roedie Roets via KO 0:33 into round 1
Alain Ilunga defeated Łukasz Świrydowicz via unanimous decision
Quinton Rossouw defeated Shaw Dean via TKO (punches) 4:31 into round 2
Jared Vanderaa defeated Ricky Misholas via TKO (punches) 1:49 into round 2, to successfully defend the EFC heavyweight title
Joe Cummins defeated Martin Van Staden via unanimous decision to take the EFC lightweight title
#ANDSTILL EFC #UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION @Jaredvanderaa #EFC77 pic.twitter.com/Tl9L4Sc84e
— EFC (@EFCworldwide) March 16, 2019
@juliankiewietz