Challenger problems for Ruan Potts

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Ruan Potts

Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of talk about EFC heavyweight champion Ruan “Fangzz” Potts. Many people  were disappointed to hear that a potential blockbuster bout with fellow Capetonian Rico Hattingh at EFC 13 would not materialise due to Hattingh being injured. This has left  Potts without a worthy adversary and as a result, the fans without a heavyweight championship fight.

While the initial result is a less marketable main event for EFC 13 in Cape Town, Hattingh’s injury has also exposed a much bigger problem for the EFC. With only one potential title contender available, the heavyweight division is looking rather thin, a problem which will continue to create match making nightmares in the future.

Ruan Potts too has a serious problem. No contenders means no fights, and no fights can be detrimental to a fighter’s career, both from a fighting and a financial perspective.  

The EFC Africa Heavyweight Landscape

Fighter	Record	EFC	Streak	Challenger Status
Rico Hattingh	14-2	1-0	1 Win	Injured
Ricky Misholas	1-0	1-0	1 Win	Not enough wins
Andrew van Zyl	7-1	2-1	1 Loss	Lost his last fight, against Ruan Potts
Calven Robinson	8-1	0-1	1 Loss	Lost his last fight, against Ruan Potts
Bernardo Mikixi	4-3	2-2	2 Losses	Back to back losses against Norman Wessels and Andrew van Zyl
Ian Visser	0-0	0-0		No fight history
Morne Marais	0-0	0-0		No fight history
Wilhelm Strauss	0-1	0-1	1 Loss	Not enough wins

How does the EFC fix this problem?

The solution to the problem is simple in principle – get more fighters into the heavyweight division and schedule more fights. This means bringing in quality talent now and concurrently investing in new talent for the future. This is easier said than done, as high level heavyweight fighters are few and far between in South Africa’s young MMA community.

Long term solution

The EFC has already begun the process of bringing some new talent into the heavyweight pool, this investment in fighters will take some time to mature, as fighters will need to earn a title shot in a very unpredictable division. Fighters like Ricky Misholas, Ian Visser and Morne Marais have already been brought in, and hopefully this is just the beginning.

While this is a necessary step, more drastic action is required to fix the problem in the short term.

Short term solution

The EFC needs to bring in an established fighter to challenge Potts, this too is easier said than done. Bringing in a fighter for a single fight is not ideal for the EFC or the fans, and is not an option in my mind. Why risk your heavyweight champion’s reputation for a single fight? A loss would really upset the apple cart and undo all the hard work the EFC has done in building up their champion. The solution then is to find a highly reputable fighter whom the EFC could contract, and while I am not au fait with all the EFC’s contractual procedures, I can’t imagine this to be a simple task.

Where then does this leave Ruan Potts?

I guess for now we can only hope that either the EFC can find the abovementioned mythological fighter or that one of the other heavyweights can string together an impressive streak in the short term. Either way, it seems unlikely we will see Potts in action in the EFC in the very near future.

Posted in: EFC, Heavyweight, Heavyweight Title, MMA Articles, MMA South Africa, Ruan Potts