Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC)

Last updated
Extreme Fighting Championship
Industry Mixed martial arts promotion
FoundedSeptember 2009
FoundersCairo Howarth
Silas Howarth
Calvin Howarth
Headquarters,
Key people
Cairo Howarth
Silas Howarth
Calvin Howarth
Graeme Cartmell
Website http://www.efcworldwide.com/

Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) is a South African mixed martial arts promotion company established since 2009. It is the largest MMA promotion company on the continent of Africa [1] and features on its roster professional fighters from across the world including the United States, Europe, South America, the UK, Australia, and Africa. The organization produces 10 live events annually. They currently have over 120 athletes exclusively contracted to the organisation. [2] EFC events are currently broadcast in over 120 countries around the world on numerous television networks in multiple languages. [3] To date, EFC has held 85 events and presided over approximately 982 matches. [4]

Contents

History

EFC was founded in 2009 by brothers Cairo Howarth, Silas Howarth, and Calvin Howarth [5] who are the present owners and along with Graeme Cartmell, who is the Vice President of Talent and Matchmaker, are the key people in the company. Prior to 2009, the Howarth brothers were great admirers of the UFC and would regularly watch UFC events through pay per view channels. This inspired them to create an African-based MMA promotion company modelled on the UFC which they named Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC). EFC's inaugural event took place at the Ticketpro Dome (formerly the Coca-Cola Dome) in Johannesburg, South Africa on November 10, 2009. [6] [7] The first 7 events took place at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg. From the 8th event in 2011 onwards, the organization held events in other major cities throughout South Africa which to date includes Cape Town, Durban, Carnival City Casino, Sun City Casino, Pretoria and Johannesburg. When the demand to watch EFC events grew, they signed television broadcasting and streaming deals with a number of media organizations throughout the world. Today EFC has broadcasting deals in place with Multichoice Supersport, SABC Sport, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, CSI Sports, DAZN, Best4Sport, and IB Sports. [8]

Rules

Extreme Fighting Championship's rules are based upon the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. All bouts are contested over three, five-minute rounds, with the exception of five-round championship bouts. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds. As per the Unified Rules of MMA, Extreme Fighting Championship only allows competitors to fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Fighters must use approved light gloves (4-6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. The referee has the right to stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position nor working toward one) after a verbal warning.

Match outcome

Matches usually end via:

A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical draw, disqualification, forfeit or no contest.

Judging criteria

The ten-point must system is used for all EFC bouts; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or less. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points. The decision is announced at the end of the match, but the judge's scorecards are not announced.

Fouls

The following are considered fouls in EFC bouts:

  1. Butting with the head.
  2. Eye gouging of any kind.
  3. Biting.
  4. Hair pulling.
  5. Groin attacks of any kind.
  6. Fish hooking, gouging as in self-defense and some martial arts.
  7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
  8. Small joint manipulation.
  9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head. (see Rabbit punch)
  10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow. (see Elbow (strike))
  11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
  12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
  13. Grabbing the clavicle.
  14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
  15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
  16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
  17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
  18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck. (see piledriver (professional wrestling))
  19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
  20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
  21. Spitting at an opponent.
  22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
  23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
  24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
  25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
  26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
  27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
  28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
  29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
  30. Interference by the corner.
  31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.

EFC champions

ClassUpper weight limitChampionEventDateSource
Heavyweight265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)Vacant
Light Heavyweight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)Vacant
Middleweight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)Vacant
Welterweight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Themba Gorimbo
def. Luke Michael
EFC 82
Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa
September 28, 2019 [9] [10]
Lightweight155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)Vacant
Featherweight145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Igeu Kabesa
def. Pierre Botha
EFC 62
Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa
August 19, 2017 [11] [12]
Bantamweight135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)Vacant
Flyweight125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st)Vacant
Women's Bantamweight134 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)Vacant
Women's Flyweight125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st)Vacant
Women's Strawweight115 lb (52 kg; 8.2 st)Vacant

Championship history

Heavyweight World Championship

206 to 265 lbs (93 to 120 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Ruan Potts
def. Norman Wessels
EFC 9
Johannesburg, South Africa
July 30, 2011

1. def. Andrew Van Zyl at EFC 11 on November 10, 2011
2. def. Bernardo Mikixi at EFC 16 on October 19, 2012

2 Flag of South Africa.svg Andrew Van ZylEFC 18
Johannesburg, South Africa
March 01, 2013

1. def. Sors Grobbelaar at EFC 23 on September 12, 2013

3 Flag of South Africa.svg Ruan Potts (2)EFC 26
Johannesburg, South Africa
December 12, 2013
Potts vacated the title on May 10, 2014 after signing with the UFC
4 Flag of South Africa.svg Brendon Groenewald
def. Christophe Walravens
EFC 35
Cape Town, South Africa
November 06, 2014
5 Flag of South Africa.svg Andrew Van Zyl (2)EFC 39
Cape Town, South Africa
May 07, 2015
6 Flag of France.svg Cyril Asker EFC 44
Johannesburg, South Africa
October 03, 2015
Asker vacated the title on April 10, 2016 after signing with the UFC
7 Flag of South Africa.svg Danie van Heerden
def. Brendon Groenewald
EFC 48
Cape Town, South Africa
April 22, 2016
van Heerden vacated the title on October 15, 2016 after leaving EFC
8 Flag of South Africa.svg Andrew Van Zyl (3)
def. Elvis Moyo
EFC 54
Sun City, South Africa
October 15, 2016

1. def. Wessel Mostert at EFC 61 on July 08, 2017
2. def. Jared Vanderaa at EFC 66 on December 16, 2017

9 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Dalcha Lungiambula EFC 71
Johannesburg, South Africa
June 23, 2018
Lungiambula vacated the title on April 10, 2016 after signing with the UFC
- Flag of the United States.svg Jared Vanderaa
def. Ruan Potts for interim title
EFC 76
Pretoria, South Africa
December 08, 2018
10 Flag of the United States.svg Jared Vanderaa
def. Ricky Misholas
EFC 77
Pretoria, South Africa
March 16, 2019
Vanderaa vacated the title on November 4, 2020 after signing with the UFC

Light Heavyweight World Championship

186 to 205 lbs (84 to 93 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg J.P. Joubert
def. Norman Wessels
EFC 15
Johannesburg, South Africa
July 27, 2012
Joubert vacated the title after retiring.
2 Flag of South Africa.svg Gideon Drotschie
def. Danie van Heerden
EFC 20
Johannesburg, South Africa
June 27, 20131. def. Fraser Opie at EFC 25 on November 07, 2013
3 Flag of South Africa.svg Norman WesselsEFC 35
Cape Town, South Africa
November 06, 2014

1. def. Dalcha Lungiambula at EFC 42 on August 08, 2015

- Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Dalcha Lungiambula
def. Tumelo Maphutha for interim title
EFC 52
Cape Town, South Africa
August 05, 2016
Title was vacated on March 4, 2017 when Wessels retired. The interim champion Dalcha Lungiambula become the champion.
4 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Dalcha Lungiambula
promoted to undisputed champion
EFC 52
Cape Town, South Africa
August 05, 2016

1. def. Alan Baudot at EFC 61 on July 08, 2017
2. def. Stuart Austin at EFC 65 on November 04, 2017

Lungiambula vacated the title on June 29, 2019 after signing with the UFC
5 Flag of Cameroon.svg Simon Biyong
def. Quinton Roussow
EFC 82
Brakpan, South Africa
September 28, 2019
Biyong vacated the title on October 10, 2020 after signing with the Bellator MMA

Middleweight World Championship

171 to 185 lbs (77 to 84 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Garreth McLellan
def. Jacques Joubert
EFC 8
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 14, 2011
2 Flag of South Africa.svg Jeremy SmithEFC 12
Johannesburg, South Africa
March 02, 2012

1. def. Darren Daniel at EFC 17 on November 23, 2012

3 Flag of South Africa.svg Garreth McLellan EFC 24
Johannesburg, South Africa
October 10, 2013

1. def. JP Kruger at EFC 28 on March 27, 2014
2. def. Dricus du Plessis at EFC 33 on August 30, 2014

McLellan vacated the title on April 11, 2015 when he signed with the UFC
4 Flag of South Africa.svg Liam Cleland
def. Michiel Opperman
EFC 41
Johannesburg, South Africa
July 11, 2015
Cleland vacated the title on May 13, 2016 after he retired
5 Flag of England.svg Yannick Bahati
def. JP Kruger
EFC 49
Johannesburg, South Africa
May 13, 2016

1. def. David Buirski at EFC 56 on December 09, 2016

6 Flag of South Africa.svg Dricus Du Plessis EFC 61
Johannesburg, South Africa
August 19, 2017
- Flag of South Africa.svg Brendan Lesar
def. Garreth McLellan for interim title
EFC 80
Sibaya, South Africa
June 29, 2019
Du Plessis vacated on April 14, 2018 he signed with KSW

Welterweight World Championship

156 to 170 lbs (70 to 77 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Dallas Jakobi
def. Adam Speechly
EFC 10
Johannesburg, South Africa
September 01, 2011
2 Flag of Brazil.svg Jadyson CostaEFC 13
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 13, 2012
3 Flag of South Africa.svg Michiel OppermanEFC 16
Johannesburg, South Africa
October 19, 2012
4 Flag of South Africa.svg Dino BagattinEFC 23
Johannesburg, South Africa
September 12, 2013
5 Flag of Nigeria.svg Henry FadipeEFC 29
Johannesburg, South Africa
May 01, 2014
6 Flag of South Africa.svg Adam SpeechlyEFC 32
Johannesburg, South Africa
August 07, 2014
7 Flag of South Africa.svg David BuirskiEFC 37
Boksburg, South Africa
February 21, 2015

1. def. Martin van Staden at EFC 46 on December 12, 2015

Title was vacated on July 03, 2014 when Burisku moved up to Middleweight.
8 Flag of South Africa.svg Dricus Du Plessis
def. Martin van Staden
EFC 50
Sun City, South Africa
June 17, 2016
Du Plessis vacated on April 14, 2018 he signed with KSW
9 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Gunter Kalunda Ngunza
def. Maurício da Rocha Jr.
EFC 73
Sun City, South Africa
September 07, 2018

1. def. Martin van Staden at EFC 46 on December 12, 2015

Ngunza vacated on April 25, 2019 he signed with ONE
10 Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Themba Gorimbo
def. Luke Michael
EFC 82
Brakpan, South Africa
September 28, 2019

1. def. Lyle Karam at EFC 84 on March 14, 2020

Lightweight World Championship

146 to 155 lbs (66 to 70 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Wentzel Nel
def. Leo Gloss
EFC 3
Johannesburg, South Africa
May 08, 2010
2 Flag of South Africa.svg Costa IoannouEFC 8
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 14, 2011

1. def. Alex Cheboub at EFC 11 on November 10, 2011
2. def. Adam Speechly at EFC 14 on June 01, 2012
3. def. Leon Mynhardt at EFC 17 on November 23, 2012

3 Flag of South Africa.svg Don MadgeEFC 20
Johannesburg, South Africa
June 27, 2013
3 Flag of South Africa.svg Leon MynhardtEFC 25
Johannesburg, South Africa
November 07, 2013

1. def. Frederich Naumann at EFC 27 on February 27, 2014
2. def. Sibusiso Mdoko at EFC 34 on October 02, 2014
3. def. Don Madge at EFC 37 on February 21, 2015
4. def. Themba Gorimbo at EFC 44 on October 03, 2015

4 Flag of the United States.svg Dave MazanyEFC 51
Johannesburg, South Africa
July 15, 2016

1. def. Leon Mynhardt at EFC 55 on November 11, 2016

5 Flag of South Africa.svg Don Madge (2)EFC 58
Cape Town, South Africa
April 08, 2017
Title was vacated on October 27, 2018 when Madge signed with the UFC.
6 Flag of South Africa.svg Martin van Staden
def. Gavin Hughes
EFC 68
Cape Town, South Africa
March 31, 2018
7 Flag of the United States.svg Dave Mazany (2)EFC 72
Cape Town, South Africa
August 11, 2018
Title was vacated on March 16, 2019 when Mazany retired.
8 Flag of England.svg Joe Cummins
def. Martin van Staden
EFC 77
Pretoria, South Africa
March 16, 2019

Featherweight World Championship

136 to 145 lbs (61 to 66 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of Angola.svg Demarte Pena
def. Leo Gloss
EFC 10
Johannesburg, South Africa
September 01, 2011

1. def. Wesley Hawkey at EFC 14 on June 01, 2012
2. def. Terrence Griessel at EFC 16 on October 19, 2012
3. def. Wentzel Nel at EFC 19 on April 19, 2013
4. def. Abdul Hassan at EFC 21 on July 25, 2013
5. def. Alain Ilunga at EFC 24 on October 10, 2013

Title was vacated on July 03, 2014 when Pena moved down to Bantamweight.
2 Flag of South Africa.svg Boyd Allen
def. Barend Nienaber
EFC 32
Johannesburg, South Africa
August 07, 2014

1. def. Wade Groth at EFC 36 on December 11, 2014
2. def. Wesley Hawkey at EFC 38 on April 04, 2015

3 Flag of Scotland.svg Danny Henry EFC 44
Johannesburg, South Africa
October 03, 2015
4 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Igeu Kabesa EFC 47
Johannesburg, South Africa
March 05, 2016

1. def. Hanru Botha at EFC 56 on December 09, 2016

5 Flag of Scotland.svg Danny Henry (2)EFC 57
Johannesburg, South Africa
March 04, 2017
Title was vacated on July 16, 2017 when Henry signed with the UFC.
6 Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Igeu Kabesa (2)
def. Pierre Botha
EFC 62
Johannesburg, South Africa
August 19, 2017

1. def. Calum Murrie at EFC 74 on October 06, 2018
2. def. Karlo Caput at EFC 79 on May 04, 2019

Bantamweight World Championship

126 to 135 lbs (57 to 61 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Nkazimulo Zulu
def. Charlie Weyer
EFC 27
Johannesburg, South Africa
February 27, 2014
2 Flag of Angola.svg Demarte PenaEFC 31
Johannesburg, South Africa
July 03, 2014

1. def. Francois Groenewald at EFC 34 on October 2, 2014
2. def. Cedric Doyle at EFC 41 on July 11, 2015
3. NC. Irshaad Sayed at EFC 55 on November 11, 2016
4. NC. Irshaad Sayed at EFC 66 on December 16, 2017

- Flag of South Africa.svg Irshaad Sayed
def. Cedric Doyle for interim title
EFC 48
Cape Town, South Africa
April 22, 2016
Title was vacated on December 16, 2017 when Pena was suspended 4 years by WADA for testing positive for steroids at EFC 55. The results of his two bouts were changed to No Contest [13]
3 Flag of South Africa.svg JP Buys
def. Philippe Rouch
EFC 69
Johannesburg, South Africa
April 28, 2018

1. def. Luthando Biko at EFC 78 on April 13, 2019

- Flag of South Africa.svg Luthando Biko
def. Cal Ellenor for interim title
EFC 75
Cape Town, South Africa
November 03, 2018
- Flag of South Africa.svg Faeez Jacobs
def. Nkazimulo Zulu for interim title
EFC 81
Johannesburg, South Africa
August 10, 2019
Title was vacated on November 17, 2020 when Buys signed with the UFC.

Flyweight World Championship

116 to 125 lbs (53 to 67 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Nkazimulo Zulu
def. Craig Ninow
EFC 43
Durban, South Africa
August 27, 2015

1. def. Sylvester Chipfumbu at EFC 62 on August 19, 2017
2. def. Magno Alves at EFC 71 on June 23, 2018
3. def. Gary Joshua at EFC 75 on November 03, 2018

- Flag of South Africa.svg JP Buys
def. Baldwin Mdlalose for interim title
EFC 54
Sun City, South Africa
October 15, 2016
2 Flag of England.svg Jake Hadley EFC 78
Cape Town, South Africa
April 13, 2019
Title was vacated on September 27, 2019 when Hadley signed with the Bellator MMA.

Women's Flyweight World Championship

116 pounds (53 kg) to 125 pounds (57 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of South Africa.svg Amanda Lino
def. Jaqauline Trosee
EFC 60
Durban, South Africa
June 10, 2017

1. def. Rizlen Zouak at EFC 70 on May 26, 2018

2 Flag of France.svg Manon FiorotEFC 83
Pretoria, South Africa
December 14, 2019
Title was vacated on January 20, 2021 when Fiorot signed with the UFC.

Women's Strawweight World Championship

Under 115 pounds (52 kg)

No.NameEventDateDefenses
1 Flag of Italy.svg Chiara Penco
def. Danella Eliasov
EFC 67
Johannesburg, South Africa
March 10, 2018
2 Flag of Poland.svg Karolina WójcikEFC 76
Pretoria, South Africa
December 08, 2018
Title was vacated on June 8, 2019 when Wójcik signed with Venator FC.

Notable athletes and alumni

Other EFC athletes signed to the UFC

Reality shows

The Fighter: Season 1

EFC launched a reality TV show on October 14, 2017 called The Fighter. [36] [37] Housed in a villa in Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 male MMA Middleweight prospects from around the world lived and trained together, as well as competed against one another for a multiple fight contract and a guaranteed EFC title fight. They were split into two teams each coached by an experienced EFC athlete. The Fighter was broadcast on global television in 10 one-hour episodes. It was concluded on December 16, 2017 at EFC 66 with The Fighter title bout taking place between the two finalists followed by a bout between the two coaches [38]

SeasonDateWeight classWinnerRunner-upSource
The Fighter: Season 1October 14, 2017MiddleweightBrendan LesarIbrahima Mane [39]

The Fighter: Season 2

Following the success and positive reception to The Fighter: Season 1, EFC launched The Fighter: Season 2 [40] [41] on April 26, 2019. It followed the same format as Season 1 but with 10 female MMA Flyweight athletes from around the world instead. They were housed in Rosebank, South Africa, where they trained together and competed against one another in a quest to win a multiple fight contract and a guaranteed EFC title fight. As with Season 1, the competitors were split into two teams each coached by an experienced EFC athlete. Season 2 was also broadcast on global television in 10 one-hour episodes. It was concluded on June 29, 2019 at EFC 80 with The Fighter Season 2 title bout taking place between the two finalists followed by a bout between the two coaches. [42]

SeasonDateWeight classWinnerRunner-upSource
The Fighter: Season 2April 26, 2019FlyweightManon Fiorot Mellony Geugjes [43] [44]

Subsidiary companies

EFC owns the following companies.

Upcoming events

Following EFC 84, EFC 85 was scheduled to take place on April 4, 2020 at Grand West Casino in Cape Town. However, in early March, the President of South Africa - Cyril Ramaphosa - restricted public gatherings to less than 100 people due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was then relocated to the much smaller venue of the EFC Performance Institute and was to take place in front of a small group of spectators while being broadcast on all usual channels. [45] On March 23, 2020, President Ramaphosa announced a nationwide 21 day level five lockdown prohibiting all such events among other restrictions from taking place until April 16, 2020. [46] The lockdown was extended until May 1 after which it was again extended with level four restrictions. [47] EFC 85 has been postponed until further notice. [48]

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Dalcha Lungiambula is a Congolese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competes in the Middleweight and Light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

References

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