Africa’s most dominant Featherweight fighter, Igeu ‘Smiley’ Kabesa, has once again retained his title by defeating number one challenger, South Africa’s Vince Bembe, by submission in round one at the EFC Performance Institute in Johannesburg.
Kabesa ensured he backed up his tough talk with his impressive skills. Despite Bembe taking him to the ground and attempting to put the champion in a headlock, the 30-year-old weathered the storm and countered every move brought by the challenger.
The champion used his superior wrestling skills to reverse the position and started to control the fight. Smiley took Bembe’s back and flattened him out, landing vital shot after shot. When Bembe did try to get to his feet, Kabesa locked in a rear-naked choke to force the challenger to tap.
Speaking after the fight, Kabesa thanked his coach Tobie Alberts for the win, stating that no one except the trainer believed in him. He also thanked his camp for believing in him, saying that is why he’s great today.
“I’ve learnt one thing from coach Jan. You can only control what you can control. What is out of your control, you can’t control,” Smiley said.
In the co-main event fight, Cole “the Hitman” Henning put an end to the unbeaten streak of Tapiwa KatiKati. The 29-year-old put the ferocious fighter to sleep in the third round.
