A recent addition to the South African MMA roster, the
featherweight division has grown in popularity, largely due to the nature of
the fights, which are often technically brilliant. While most of these fighters
have fought in other divisions, they have found a home in the featherweight
division, where they now ply their fighting trade. Here are my top 5 South African
featherweights:
1. Demarte “The Wolf” Pena (3-0)
Demarte Pena recently became the youngest EFC champion in the
promotions brief history. At just 21, The Wolf bested Leo Gloss in a five round
unanimous decision at EFC Africa 10 in September 2011. Although fairly
inexperienced, Pena has fought some big names and in addition to his win versus
Gloss, holds a notable win over Jean-Luc Kazadi. With no shortage of
accomplished fighters breathing down his neck, Demarte Pena will have his work
cut out for him to maintain his position atop the featherweight rankings.
2. Wesley “The Young Assassin” Hawkey (6-2)
Wesley Hawkey is currently undefeated in the EFC, with a 2-0
record. The Young Assassin made short work of both Jean-Luc Kazadi and Victor
Anyaogu en route to a number one contender matchup with Denzil Wait at EFC 12,
the winner of which will almost certainly get a crack at Demarte Pena for the
EFC featherweight title and #1 spot on this list.
3. Denzil “Redstarr” Wait (5-1)
Denzil Wait, already well respected in the MMA community, made
quite a statement in his EFC debut in November last year when he steamrolled a
very dangerous Abdul Hassan. Wait will now face off with Wesley Hawkey at EFC
12 to determine the number one contender in the featherweight division and hope
to pave a path to a featherweight title shot.
4. Leo “King” Gloss (8-3)
Leo Gloss has been a staple on EFC fight cards for the past
few years. The King has fought some of the promotions top fighters and already
been involved in two title fights in two different divisions. In 2010, Gloss lost his lightweight title fight against Wentzel Nel (#4 SA MMA Lightweight Rankings) and in 2011
lost to Demarte Pena in this promotions first featherweight title fight, Gloss
will look to get back to work doing what he does best, knocking people out.
5. Jean-Luc “The Hitman” Kazadi (4-3)
Jean-Luc Kazadi has had his stats skewed of late by
successive losses, one to Demarte Pena in a close Majority decision loss at EFC 8 and the other against Wesley
Hawkey in a first round submission at EFC Africa 10. The Hitman however has looked impressive in
the hexagon and will be a continue to be a tough fight for any man in the
featherweight division.
To view rankings from all weight divisions visit my MMA South African Rankings page
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment