Extreme Fighting Championship

Extreme Fighting Championship is a South African mixed martial arts promotion company established since 2009. It is the largest MMA promotion company on the continent of Africa and features on its roster professional fighters from across the world including the United States, Europe, South America, the UK, Australia, and Africa. The organization produces 10 live events annually. They currently have over 120 athletes exclusively contracted to the organisation. EFC events are currently broadcast in over 120 countries around the world on numerous television networks in multiple languages. To date, EFC has held 132 events and presided over approximately 1,000 matches.

History

EFC was founded in 2009 by brothers Cairo Howarth, Silas Howarth, and Calvin Howarth who are the present owners and along with Graeme Cartmell, who is the Vice President of Talent and Matchmaker, are the key people in the company. Prior to 2009, the Howarth brothers were great admirers of the UFC and would regularly watch UFC events through pay per view channels. This inspired them to create an African-based MMA promotion company modelled on the UFC which they named Extreme Fighting Championship . EFC's inaugural event took place at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa on 10 November 2009. The first 7 events took place at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg. From the 8th event in 2011 onwards, the organization held events in other major cities throughout South Africa which to date includes Cape Town, Durban, Carnival City Casino, Sun City Casino, Pretoria and Johannesburg. When the demand to watch EFC events grew, they signed television broadcasting and streaming deals with a number of media organizations throughout the world. Today EFC has broadcasting deals in place with Multichoice Supersport, SABC Sport, Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, CSI Sports, DAZN, Best4Sport, and IB Sports.

Rules

Extreme Fighting Championship's rules were initially drafted and aligned by Marius Lotter, the then regulator for Amateur and Professional MMA and are based upon the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. All bouts are contested over three, five-minute rounds, with the exception of five-round championship bouts. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds. As per the Unified Rules of MMA, Extreme Fighting Championship only allows competitors to fight in approved shorts, without shoes or any other sort of foot padding. Fighters must use approved light gloves that allow fingers to grab. The referee has the right to stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground after a verbal warning.

Match outcome

Matches usually end via:

Submission: a fighter taps on the mat or his opponent three times or verbally submits.
Knockout: a fighter falls from a legal blow and is either unconscious or unable to immediately continue.
Technical Knockout: stoppage of the fight by the referee if it is determined a fighter cannot "intelligently defend" himself or by ringside doctor due to injury.
Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
*unanimous decision,
*split decision,
*majority decision,
*unanimous draw,
*majority draw.
*split draw

A fight can also end in a technical decision, technical draw, disqualification, forfeit or no contest.

Judging criteria

The ten-point must system is used for all EFC bouts; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or less. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points. The decision is announced at the end of the match, but the judge's scorecards are not announced.

Fouls

The following are considered fouls in EFC bouts:

Butting with the head.
Eye gouging of any kind.
Biting.
Hair pulling.
Groin attacks of any kind.
Fish hooking, gouging as in self-defense and some martial arts.
Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent.
Small joint manipulation.
Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea.
Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
Grabbing the clavicle.
Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
Stomping a grounded opponent.
Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
Spitting at an opponent.
Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent.
Holding the ropes or the fence.
Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the period of unarmed combat.
Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury.
Interference by the corner.
Throwing in the towel during competition.

When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.

Men's championship history

Heavyweight World Championship

''206 to 265 lbs ''

Light Heavyweight World Championship

''186 to 205 lbs ''

Middleweight World Championship

''171 to 185 lbs ''

Welterweight World Championship

''156 to 170 lbs ''

Lightweight World Championship

''146 to 155 lbs ''

Featherweight World Championship

''136 to 145 lbs ''

Bantamweight World Championship

''126 to 135 lbs ''

Flyweight World Championship

''116 to 125 lbs ''

Women's championship history

Women's Bantamweight World Championship

126 to 135 lbs

No.

Name

Event

Date

Defenses

Women's Flyweight World Championship

'' to ''

Women's Strawweight World Championship

''Under ''

Tournament winners

EFC Flyweight Grand Prix

Four-man flyweight tournament for the vacant EFC Flyweight title.

Weight Division

Champion

Runner-up

Event

Date

Flyweight

Notable athletes and alumni

Garreth McLellan: Former EFC Middleweight champion who was signed by the UFC in 2015. He competed in 5 UFC bouts from April 2015 until March 2017.Ruan Potts: Former 2 times EFC Heavyweight champion who was signed by the UFC in 2014 He competed in 3 UFC bouts from May 2014 until February 2015.Cyril Asker: Former EFC Heavyweight champion who was signed by the UFC in 2016. To date he has competed in 5 UFC bouts.Danny Henry: Former 2 times EFC Featherweight champion who was signed by the UFC in 2017. In his debut match at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio he earned a Fight of the night bonus. To date he has competed in 4 UFC bouts.

Dalcha Lungiambula: Former EFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight champion who was invited to compete in the UFC in 2019. To date he has competed in 3 UFC bouts.Dricus du Plessis: Current UFC Middleweight champion, du Plessis is the former EFC Middleweight and Welterweight champion. Originally called up to the UFC in September 2020, he made his promotional debut against Markus Perez on 11 October 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179 and won via a TKO in the first round. Du Plessis was scheduled to face Trevin Giles on 20 March 2021 at UFC on ESPN 21, but had to withdraw from the event after being refused entry to the US due to Covid related restrictions placed on South Africans.
Jared Vanderaa: Former EFC Heavyweight champion who was signed to the UFC in November 2020 after competing in the fourth season of Dana White's Contender Series. He was scheduled to fight Sergey Spivak at UFC 256 on 12 December 2020. However, Vanderaa tested positive to Covid 19 and was therefore removed from the event. The bout was rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Lewis on 20 February 2021. Vanderaa lost via TKO in the 2nd round.
Manon Fiorot Former EFC women's Lightweight champion and winner of the EFC's second season of the reality program - The Fighter. She was signed to the UFC in December 2020 and made her debut against Victoria Leonardo at UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Magny on 20 January 2021. Fiorot won via TKO in the second round.
Themba Gorimbo Former EFC Welterweight champion. He was signed to the UFC and made his debut in February 2023 against A.J Fletcher at UFC Vegas 69.

Other EFC athletes signed to the UFC

Don Madge. Former 2 times EFC Lightweight champion who was invited to compete in the UFC in 2018. In his debut match at UFC Fight Night 138 he earned a "Performance of the night" bonus with a knockout via a head kick. To date he has competed in 2 UFC bouts - UFC Fight Night 138 and UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier. Madge was scheduled to face Nasrat Haqparast at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad on 13 March 2021 but had to withdraw from the event after being refused entry to the US due to Covid related restrictions placed on South Africans.JP Buys Former EFC Flyweight and Bantamweight champion who was invited to compete in UFC owner Dana White 's Tuesday Night Contender Series in August 2017 and again in the fourth season in November 2020. After beating his opponent in the final fight of the fourth season on 17 November 2020, Buys was signed to the UFC. He made his UFC debut against Bruno Gustavo da Silva at UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland on 20 March. 2021, losing by TKO. He was 0-4 in the promotion with losses from Montel Jackson, Cody Durden, and Marcus McGhee, before being released from the promotion in October 2023.

Nkazimulo Zulu. Former two times EFC Flyweight champion and current EFC competitor who was invited in 2016 to compete in The Ultimate Fighter which was produced by the UFC and Fox Sports 1. Zulu competed on The Ultimate Fighter Season 24, Opening Round, Day 2.

Reality shows

The Fighter: Season 1

EFC launched a reality TV show on 14 October 2017 called The Fighter. Housed in a villa in Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 male MMA Middleweight prospects from around the world lived and trained together, as well as competed against one another for a multiple fight contract and a guaranteed EFC title fight. They were split into two teams each coached by an experienced EFC athlete. The Fighter was broadcast on global television in 10 one-hour episodes. It was concluded on 16 December 2017 at EFC 66 with The Fighter title bout taking place between the two finalists followed by a bout between the two coaches

Season	Date	Weight class	Winner	Runner-up	Source
The Fighter: Season 1	14 October 2017	Middleweight	Brendan Lesar	Ibrahima Mane

The Fighter: Season 2

Following the success and positive reception to The Fighter: Season 1, EFC launched The Fighter: Season 2 on 26 April 2019. It followed the same format as Season 1 but with 10 female MMA Flyweight athletes from around the world instead. They were housed in Rosebank, South Africa, where they trained together and competed against one another in a quest to win a multiple fight contract and a guaranteed EFC title fight. As with Season 1, the competitors were split into two teams each coached by an experienced EFC athlete. Season 2 was also broadcast on global television in 10 one-hour episodes. It was concluded on 29 June 2019 at EFC 80 with The Fighter Season 2 title bout taking place between the two finalists followed by a bout between the two coaches.

Season	Date	Weight class	Winner	Runner-up	Source
The Fighter: Season 2	26 April 2019	Flyweight	Manon Fiorot	Mellony Geugjes

Subsidiary companies

EFC owns the following companies:

EFC Gym
EFC Performance Institute