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Extreme Fighting Championship

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Extreme Fighting Championship
IndustryMixed martial arts promotion
FoundedSeptember 2009
FoundersCairo Howarth
Silas Howarth
Calvin Howarth
Headquarters
Paulshof, Johannesburg
,
South Africa
Key people
Cairo Howarth
Silas Howarth
Calvin Howarth
Graeme Cartmell
Websitehttp://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 USA, 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 83 events and presided over approximately 960 matches.[4]

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,[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[9]

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:

  • Submission: a fighter taps on the mat or his opponent three times (or more) or verbally submits.
  • Knockout: a fighter falls from a legal blow and is either unconscious or unable to immediately continue.
  • Technical Knockout: stoppage of the fight by the referee if it is determined a fighter cannot "intelligently defend" himself or by ringside doctor due to injury.
  • Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
    • unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for one fighter),
    • split decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with the third for the other),
    • majority decision (two judges score a win for one fighter with one for a draw),
    • unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw),
    • majority draw (two judges score a draw).
    • split draw (the total points for each fighter is equal)

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

Class Upper weight limit Champion Event Date Source
Heavyweight 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) United States Jared Vanderaa
def. Ruan Potts		 EFC 76
Time Square, Pretoria, South Africa		 December 8, 2018 [10][11]
Light Heavyweight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) Cameroon Simon Biyong
def. Quinton Rossouw		 EFC 82
Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa		 September 28, 2019 [12][13]
Middleweight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) South Africa Dricus du Plessis
def. Yannick Bahati		 EFC 62
Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa		 August 19, 2017 [14][15]
Welterweight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) Zimbabwe Themba Gorimbo
def. Luke Michael		 EFC 82
Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa		 September 28, 2019 [16][13]
Lightweight 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) England Joe Cummins
def. Martin Van Staden		 EFC 77
Time Square, Pretoria, South Africa		 March 16, 2019 [17][18]
Featherweight 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) South Africa Igeu Kabesa
def. Pierre Botha		 EFC 62
Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, South Africa		 August 19, 2017 [19][20]
Bantamweight 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) South Africa Faeez Jacobs
def. Nkazimulo Zulu		 EFC 81
Time Square, Pretoria, South Africa		 August 10, 2019 [21]
Flyweight 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) England Jake Hadley
def. Nkazimulo Zulu		 EFC 78
Grandwest Casino, Cape Town, South Africa		 April 13, 2019 [22]
Women's Bantamweight 134 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) South Africa Amanda Lino
def. Rizlen Zouak		 EFC 70
Sibaya Casino, Durban, South Africa		 May 26, 2018 [23]
Women's Flyweight 125 lb (57 kg; 8.9 st) France Manon Fiorot
def. Amanda Lino		 EFC 83
Time Square, Pretoria, South Africa		 December 14, 2019 [24][25]
Women's Strawweight 115 lb (52 kg; 8.2 st) Poland Karolina Wójcik
def. Chiara Penco		 EFC 76
Time Square, Pretoria, South Africa		 December 8, 2018 [26]

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.[44][45] 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[46]

Season Date Weight class Winner Runner-up Source
The Fighter: Season 1 October 14, 2017 Middleweight Brendan Lesar Ibrahima Mane [47]

The Fighter: Season 2

Following the success and positive reception to The Fighter: Season 1, EFC launched The Fighter: Season 2[48][49] 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.[50]

Season Date Weight class Winner Runner-up Source
The Fighter: Season 2 April 26, 2019 Flyweight Manon Fiorot Mellony Geugjes [51][52]

Subsidiary companies

EFC owns the following companies.

  • EFC Gym
  • EFC Performance Institute

References

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  2. ^ Strickl, Nick (2017-07-14). "Mayweather vs. McGregor: LIVE London press conference". Cage Pages. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
  3. ^ "EFC - Inverleigh Broadcasting Corp". Inverleigh.com. 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Sherdog.com. "Extreme Fighting Championship (Africa) Fights, Fight Cards, Videos, Pictures, Events and more". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  5. ^ Sibiya, Silver (March 26, 2017). "Keeping it in the family". Sport.
  6. ^ https://za.linkedin.com/in/graeme-cartmell-25a60928
  7. ^ "EFC 01".
  8. ^ "EFC Africa - Extreme Fighting Championship Africa 1". Sherdog.
  9. ^ "Broadcast Schedule".
  10. ^ "EFC 76: Wojcik, Vanderaa Earn Titles". FIGHT SPORTS. 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  11. ^ "Kihn, Stephen (2019-03-11). "Vanderaa: Sport. Retrieved 2019-11-28". Sport 24. Retrieved Nov 28, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "Zimbabwean crown EFC champion". Bulawayo24 News. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
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  14. ^ "Du Plessis targets a third EFC belt". ESPN.com. 2017-08-22. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  15. ^ Kihn, Stephen (2019-02-27). "What's next for Dricus du Plessis?". Sport. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  16. ^ "EFC 82: Gorimbo and Biyong make history". Fight Site. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  17. ^ Kihn, Stephen (2019-03-19). "Cummins willing to face Commanda Boy". Sport. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  18. ^ "An extreme fight night to remember | Pretoria News". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  19. ^ "Kabesa defends EFC flyweight title for third time". ESPN.com. 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  20. ^ "Kabesa's confidence sky high ahead of EFC title defence | IOL". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  21. ^ "EFC 81: Faeez Jacobs claims interim bantamweight championship". Fight Site. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
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  26. ^ "Karolina Wojcik new EFC strawweight champion | IOL". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
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  32. ^ Simon, Zane (2016-02-09). "UFC signs a French HW & Bosnian LW". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
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External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Extreme_Fighting_Championship&oldid=930992552"