MMA Africa showdown begins

The Mixed Martial Arts Africa Championships got underway in Windhoek yesterday with fighters from Southern Africa converging at the Hybrid Fitness Centre for the week-long spectacle.

The tournament started with the youth division, which has been added to the annual championships for the first time, while the strongest contingent of fighters came from South Africa and Angola.

A team from Cameroon also entered but their fighters did not pitch in time and their opponents got walk-over victories.

Namibia were represented by two youth fighters, Shange Kamwi, fighting in the 57kg category and Adriano Bock in the 52kg category. They both got off to losing starts, with Kamwi losing to Claudio Fontoura of Angola, while Bock lost to Paulo Alfredo of Angola.

It is the first time that the youth division has been added to the championships and Natascha de Sousa of the Namibian organising committee said that it was a special milestone. 

“It’s the first time that the MMA have included a youth section at the African Championships – in the past they just had the senior and junior categories. So it’s a milestone for the MMA and also for us to host it here in Namibia,” she said. 

De Sousa said the Namibian fighters were quite inexperienced. 

“We have a very young and inexperienced team. It’s their first big competition, so they dont have the experience.”

Kamwi and Bock, however, were both in high spirits and looking forward to the rest of the competition. 

The tournament proper gets underway today when the junior and senior divisions start. The action continues throughout the day, while the fighting continues tomorrow and Friday, before the finals on Saturday. 

The entrance fee is N$300 today and tomorrow and N$400 on Friday, while Saturday’s entrance fee for the finals amounts to N$500 per person. 

More information can be obtained from Natascha de Sousa at 0814234160.