Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, Zimpapers Sports Hub
ELVIS “Bulawayo Bomber” Moyo isn’t just training for his next MMA bout, he’s promising a demolition so ruthless the referee might as well pull up a chair and enjoy the show.
Moyo has entered an eight week training camp in South Africa ahead of his upcoming mixed martial arts bout against HHH Djikasa of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The fight is set for September 11 in Sunninghill, Johannesburg.
The outspoken super heavyweight, known for his brutal takedowns and cage presence, says he’s ready to make a statement, and he doesn’t think the referee will need to do much.
“The referee will have to get a chair and sit in the corner and watch like everyone else… NO disturbance,” said Moyo.
Moyo recently received a major boost in the form of sponsorship from Betterbrands, a Zimbabwean company owned by businessman Scott Sakupwanya. The company, which also sponsors top local football clubs Highlanders and Simba Bhora, as well as Scottland FC in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League, took Moyo under its wing last month, marking the first time it has backed an individual athlete.
Moyo called the support “a timely boost,” allowing him to focus solely on his fighting career.
“I started training way back, but I’m officially on an eight-week camp leading to the fight,” said Moyo, who was born in Bulawayo and has been making a name for himself on the African MMA scene.
His opponent, Matunga “HHH” Djikasa, was born on March 9, 1986, and fights out of Durban. Standing at 1.98 meters, Djikasa will have a reach advantage, but Moyo, shorter and heavier, is banking on power and experience.
Djikasa holds a record of 10 wins and six losses. Moyo, meanwhile, is riding high after winning the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) heavyweight title three months ago.
That bout, held at the World Sports Betting Arena in Johannesburg, saw Moyo defeat Antony Morel of the Reunion Islands. The fight ended just two seconds into round four, when Morel verbally submitted under Moyo’s crushing grip.
That win marked a dramatic return for Moyo after a seven year hiatus from the sport. He now joins a growing list of Zimbabwean fighters making waves internationally, including Themba Gorimbo, who is based in the United States.
With momentum, sponsorship, and a training camp already underway, Moyo is locked in, and come September, he expects to put on a show no one, including the referee, will forget.
Bongani Ndlovu