The semifinals of the 2022 IMMAF Africa Championships were nothing short of exciting as we were treated to another day full of finishes. The action began at 11 am (UTC+2) local time. Fifteen fights took place in Cage 1 and only three made it as far as the judges’ scorecards.
The Women’s flyweight division opened up proceedings. South African athletes dominated to make it an all South Africa final. In the semifinal day opener, Bianca Stander overcame the impressive Judo ability of Angola’s Esperanca Pereira to get a rear-naked choke submission in the final minute of the second round.
South Africa’s Nicole Van Wyk also showed off her grappling ability against teammate Nadia Terblanche to secure her place in the final. She was hunting for various submissions over the bout but it was another rear-naked choke late in the second round that got her the win.
The Featherweight division then turned up the tempo with two big finishes. Namibia’s Veja Hinda landed a walk-off head kick finish over his opponent from Mauritius, Geraldo Moïse. South Africa’s Nioclaas Vermaak added to the excitement directly after, finishing Angola’s Elizandro Sousa with a spinning back fist. The exciting strikers will meet tomorrow in a highly anticipated match-up when they compete for gold.
At Lightweight, Zimbabwe’s Lewis Mataya continued to perform, booking his ticket to the final with a TKO finish over Namibia’s Geraldo Bok. He will meet Zambia’s Ken Nyaondo, who made it two wins in two days against Angolan athletes. With neither nation having any other representatives left in the competition, this one will be a high stakes match-up tomorrow.
Later in the day, Middleweight action saw DR Congo’s Elyse Balepe score a huge slam KO over Angola’s Garcia Kinkela with one second left on the clock. The highlight reel win lines up a finals day bout with Kinkela’s teammate, Elisio Zua.
Concluding the action was the tournament’s first look at Light Heavyweight action. South Africa’s Zhane Tannous showed some exceptional grappling from his back and locked in a Triangle Choke on Angola’s Enoc Emilio Kakesa, forcing him to tap with eight seconds remaining. He will meet Kakesa’s teammate, Stanislau Kakesse Wezy, in the final.
The full set of results from day one of the 2022 IMMAF Africa Championships can be found below and the schedule for tomorrow can be found attached.
You can watch all of the action from the 2022 IMMAF Africa Championships live on immaf. tv. The Championships will be free-to-view for audiences in African countries and available to immaf.tv subscribers. A Championship Pass will be available for non-subscribers from outside of Africa, providing three days of MMA action for just $4.99.
SEMI-FINALS – RESULTS
Bout 1: Female F: Flyweight 56.7 kg (125 lbs) Bianca Stander (South Africa) d e f Esperanca Pereira (Angola) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2, 2:10
Bout 2: Female F: Flyweight 56.7 kg (125 lbs) Nicole Van Wyk (South Africa) d e f Nadia Terblanche (South Africa) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2, 2:06
Bout 3: Female F: Bantamweight 61.2 kg (135 lbs) Mischka Laubscher (South Africa) d e f Carissa Botha (South Africa) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1, 2:00
Bout 4: Male M: Flyweight 56.7 kg (125 lbs) Mathys du Randt (South Africa) d e f Jason Beukes (Namibia) via Unanimous Decision Round 3 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bout 5: Male M: Bantamweight 61.2 kg (135 lbs) Maurio Silva (Angola) d e f Adalberto Ntyamba (Angola) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1, 2:31
Bout 6: Male M: Bantamweight 61.2 kg (135 lbs) Nathanial Komana (South Africa) d e f Sipho Mlaba (South Africa) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2, 1:50
Bout 7: Male M: Featherweight 65.8 kg (145 lbs) Veja Hinda (Namibia) d e f Geraldo Moïse (Mauritius) via KO Round 1, 0:52
Bout 8: Male M: Featherweight 65.8 kg (145 lbs) Nicolaas Vermaak (South Africa) d e f Elizandro Sousa (Angola) via TKO Round 1, 0:59
Bout 9: Male M: Lightweight 70.3 kg (155 lbs) Ken Nyaondo (Zambia) d e f Tulunda Daniel (Angola) via Unanimous Decision Round 3 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Bout 10: Male M: Lightweight 70.3 kg (155 lbs) Lewis Mataya (Zimbabwe) d e f Geraldo Bok (Namibia) via TKO Round 2, 2:14
Bout 11: Male M: Welterweight 77.1 kg (170 lbs) Osvaldo Benedito (Angola) d e f Ivandro Francisco (Angola) via Submission (Americana) Round 2, 1:00
Bout 12: Male M: Welterweight 77.1 kg (170 lbs) Cameron Coulson (South Africa) d e f Tyrone Platt (South Africa) via Unanimous Decision Round 3 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
Bout 13: Male M: Middleweight 83.9 kg (185 lbs) Elisio Zua (Angola) d e f Adei Volker (South Africa) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 2, 2:46
Bout 14: Male M: Middleweight 83.9 kg (185 lbs) Elyse Balepe (the Democratic Republic Of The Congo) d e f Garcia Kinkela (Angola) via KO Round 1, 3:00
Bout 15: Male M: Light Heavyweight 93 kg (205 lbs) Zhane Tannous (South Africa) d e f Enoc Emilio Kakesa (Angola) via Submission (Triangle Choke) Round 1, 2:52
