SOUTH AFRICA: Cage fighters compete at sell-out stadium event, with competitors from Mozambique providing stiffest competition for local teams

Record ID: 374700

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: Cage fighters compete at sell-out stadium event, with competitors from Mozambique providing stiffest competition for local teams
  • Date: 30th March 2011
  • Summary: MOZAMBIQUE TEAM WALKING TO THE CAGE
  • Embargoed: 14th April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa, South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Lifestyle,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVABV0PMZDRHQKARPOO3BU82V4MK
  • Story Text: Hundreds of people crowded into Vanderbijlpark's casino stadium on Saturday (March 26) for the city's first cage fighting contest.
    The event was a chance for amateur fighters from across Africa to face each other in the ring for the first official tournament of its kind in South Africa.
    The sport has soared in popularity in America and the Far East in the last few years and is rapidly building a fan base in Africa where contenders from all over the continent are emerging from the shadows of underground fighting clubs and street contests.
    Cage fighting, known professionally as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), is a combat sport that combines several different forms of fighting including boxing, wrestling and martial arts. It's often performed in an amateur capacity but is gaining ground as a professional sport.
    Saturday's event, billed as the 'MMA Devastation tournament', was organised by Ken Shamrock, a legendary wrestler and fighter who is credited with introducing competitive cage fighting to Africa and coaches his own team, the Lion's Den, in South Africa.
    Speaking to reporters after watching his own son Ryan compete on behalf of the Lion's Den team, Shamrock said his efforts to introduce the sport to South Africans were already paying off.
    "For me watching amateurs when they fight and watching the talent develop over the years is really really exciting for me, I developed five world champions in the USC and probably about 20 champions in all, around the world," said Shamrock, popularly known as 'the most dangerous man in the world' in wrestling circles.
    Fighters competing in the Devastation Tournament included Ruaan Jacobs, Junior van Schalk, Mervin Moller and Mynhart Gobert from South Africa, who entered the most competitors and won the most matches.
    However, Mozambique was said to be South Africa's closest rivals for the top spot.
    "With my career I think I want to go very far, this is just the beginning, I think I'm gonna do great," said Marino Cutendana, one of the Mozambique fighters.
    Cutendana's coach, Dememarte Pena said he had high hopes for the player after winning his round.
    "We're very proud of him, soon enough he's also going to become a professional fighter, maybe one more win and everything will be fine," he said.
    The tournament was the first of ten events planned around South Africa this year.
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