On Oct. 2, EFC holds its 34th event, which takes place in Carnival City, Johannesburg, South Africa. The event features title bouts in the lightweight and bantamweight divisions.
Leon Mynhardt is set to defend his lightweight title against Sibusiso Mdoko in the main event and undefeated bantamweight Demarte Pena puts his title on the line against Francois Groenewald in the co-main event.
Pena is EFC’s most dominant champion ever, with a total of five title defenses as the promotion’s featherweight kingpin and title reigns spanning two weight classes. Now on a nine-fight winning streak, Pena has continued to exert his dominance in the bantamweight division since his debut at 135 pounds in a title affair against Nkazimulo Zulu. Pena, who debuted with the EFC promotion in 2011, will be making his first defense of the bantamweight crown. Pena is renowned for his grinding style, with six of his nine wins coming by way of decision.
Groenewald is currently riding a career best four-fight winning streak and has vowed to be the first fighter to finish Pena. All eight of the 29-year-old’s wins have been by way of either TKO or submission. Groenewald, with a base in grappling and a ground game far superior to any of Pena’s previous opponents, presents a new challenge for Pena. He favors chokes, a method which accounts for five of his EFC victories. Groenewald has been competing under the EFC banner since 2011 and currently stands at 6-3 in the promotion and 8-3 overall as a pro.
Above is a video preview for Pena’s title fight with Groenewald.