WINDHOEK: Angola has produced many top MMA stars over the years.
To the casual fan, guys like Demarte Pena, Eduardo Barros, Manel Kape, Nerik Simoes and Marino Cutendana come to mind.
These are some of the country’s elite athletes, with Pena and Kape being the cream of the crop right now after making names for themselves and earning titles on some of the biggest platforms in the world.
While Angolan athletes have proven they have what it takes to make it to the top, they have also done excellent work in churning up new talent, and that was made abundantly clear in the Youth leg of IMMAF African Championships taking place in Windhoek, Namibia, on Tuesday.
Team Angola stole the show, taking home 16 youth medals on the day, and their standout athlete was their Youth Men’s 57kg warrior, Cláudio Fontoura.
Fontura was dominant in his four fights, winning all by stoppage with three chokes and one armbar, before being crowned gold medallist and champion of his weight class.
His hardest fight came against South Africa’s Yasin Edwards, who managed to handle the pressure and speed of the Angolan well, before tapping out to an anaconda choke just as the final bell rang.
Before his bout with Edwards, Fontura delivered a vicious armbar to Edwards’ compatriot Cihan Geyer, who was brought to tears due to the pain and eventually had to retire from the competition.
“I am grateful to be here to perform with my team at the IMMAF African Youth Championship. A big thank you to the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation for this opportunity,” said a soft-spoken Fontura, who prefers being more expressive inside the cage.
Check out our article https://t.co/JhkYShalh3
on yesterday's Youth leg of the IMMAF - International Mixed Martial Arts Federation #Africa #mixedmartialarts #championship link in comments. There were many stars especially Angola's Cláudio Fontoura (centre). pic.twitter.com/BIXSeV5CXT
The junior and senior leg of the tournament kicked off late last night and will continue to run until Saturday, when the finals will take place.
* Stay tuned to MzansiMMA on social media for live updates.
* Julian Kiewietz’s trip to the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation Africa MMA Championships in Namibia was made possible by Intergro.
