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Sylvester Chipfumbu

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN cage fighter Sylvester Chipfumbu suffered his fist Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) defeat in a flyweight title to Nkazimulo Zulu at Carnival City in Johannesburg on Saturday night.

Known as “The Gladiator”, the 25-year-old Chipfumbu, who went into the fight with four wins out of four EFC appearances, could have affected his chances of fighting in the highly lucrative Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in the United States.

A win would have taken Chipfumbu closer to realising his goal of becoming the first Zimbabwean ahead of Elvis “Bulawayo Bomber” Moyo and Masvingo-born Themba Gorimbo to fight in the UFC United States.

Chipfumbu admitted that Zulu deserved to retain his title.

“The results were not what we expected, but I have to admit Zulu was the better athlete. I appreciate the support from all of you guys. I wouldn’t be here without you. Huge thanks to my training partners, coaches and sponsors.

“We will be back soon to claim the throne,” Chipfumbu wrote on his social media page.

Chipfumbu, a former Zimbabwe national team karateka, made a storming start to his professional career in South Africa when he knocked out Pieter de Klerk in the first round in April 2016.

The Gladiator followed that up with an August 2016 victory over Lourens Botes and capped his first year at EFC with a November win against Guy Mongambi. His wins over Botes and Mongambi were through unanimous points’ decisions.

The Zimbabwean’s biggest win that secured him a shot at the title fight came in April when he knocked out Abdul “Hollywood” Hassan.

The win over Hassan took the Gweru-born cage fighter’s record to four wins in four matches.

Seasoned cage-fighter Moyo believes Chipfumbu will bounce back and become a household name in cage fighting.

“The fans love him because he is a good fighter and good fighters win with honour and lose with dignity. By admitting that Zulu was better than him, it shows that The Gladiator is a mature fighter who will go back to the gym and work on his shortcomings. He will certainly rise again and what’s important is to keep his head high and work hard in the gym,” said Moyo.

@ZililoR