Amateur MMA | No Holds Barred SA fight report.

While the music at Seasons Wither 4 was heavy, powerful and aggressive, it was beaten in all three categories by NHBSA’s amateur MMA spectacular. 1 amateur kickboxing match and 8 amateur MMA matches had crowds packed into the amphitheatre, eager to see SA’s rising cage fighting talent.

 Kickboxing

Frans Morele beat Darren Joyce (unanimous decision).

Although Joyce slipped a few kicks past Morele’s defences, he never fully recovered from a huge knee in round one. Morele was dominant throughout and took a well deserved victory.

MMA

Francois Groenewald beat David van Schalkwyk (submission – rear naked choke).

Fairly even groundwork throughout round one, Groenewald then escaped a guillotine and pressed van Schalkwyk up against the cage where he was able to lock in a choke.

Jason McAuliff beat Stephan Russow (submission – rear naked choke).

Despite a number of wild punches early on from both fighters, McAuliff looked fairly dominant on the canvas where he delivered solid punches to Russow’s body. Twenty seconds into round two McAuliff finished the job by getting Russow’s back and choking him into submission.

Shaun van Niekerk beat Byron Ballotto (forfeit).

An action-packed fight, Ballotto came tearing out of his corner intent on aggressive boxing, while van Niekerk did well to weather the early storm. Ballotto looked strong standing, in the clinch and when delivering some fierce amateur ground ‘n pound in round one, before attempting an armbar and rear choke, both defended. Round two saw better boxing from both fighters and a solid low kick/ right cross combination from van Niekerk, who then took the fight to the floor, where it became clear that Ballotto was exhausted. When the round came to a close Ballotto had had enough and the win was awarded to van Niekerk.

Boyd Aller beat Wade Groth (split decision).

One of the highlights of the tournament, Aller and Groth were both well-skilled and well-conditioned. Groth’s takedowns were countered by Aller’s wrestling slams, but Groth was comfortable on his back, often working for a guillotine. As the stand up exchanges wore on Aller appeared to get a slight upperhand and left Groth with a nicely swelling mouse under his right eye. When the three rounds were up both fighters looked like they had more to give but it was too late, the judges called a split decision to Aller.

Nico de Jager beat James Tolmay (KO – uppercut).

A dull first round tied up on the mat gave way to a strong uppercut combination early in round two which ended Tolmay’s afternoon early.

Andrew Mazaiwana beat Graham Breslin (TKO).

Mazaiwana’s brute power and accurate punching simply overwhelmed Breslin. If Breslin had skills to show we may never know as the referee put a stop to the fight just 27 seconds in.

Josh ‘Iron Man’ Muller beat Lawrence Cassim (submission – triangle choke).

An incredibly calm and clinical performance by Muller, who displayed impressive ground skill. After taking the fight to the floor and throwing a few punches, Muller easily locked in a triangle choke.

Daniel ‘Tiny’ Strauss beat Riekert Cilliers (KO).

With an excess of 140kg behind every strike, it was no surprise that the super heavyweight bout lasted less than a minute. Strauss’ right hand sent Cilliers 180 degrees and brought a fitting end to an impressive display by NHBSA and all the athletes who were brave enough to carry the torch for amateur MMA on 29 May.

We can only hope for many more amateur events of this calibre in Gauteng.

Details: www.nhbsouthafrica.co.za

By Jack Birch

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