Julian Kiewietz
Team Angola topped the table at the IMMAF Africa Championships this past week, bagging 37 medals in the Junior and Senior finals leg in Windhoek, Namibia.
Angola entered the largest team in the tournament, walking away with 11 gold and 23 silver and bronze medals.
Angola’s Anderson Gouveia made history in the final by winning the Light-Heavyweight belt, displaying beautiful jiu-jitsu before beating DRC’s Herve Zeng with an armbar in the second round. This result confirmed Gouveia’s status as an International Mixed Martial Arts Federation double champ after he won the 2023 Heavyweight title.
In the women’s junior Strawweight division, Luhinga Joao cemented her status as one of the athletes with the most lethal hands in the IMMAF amateur rankings as she lit up the Hybrid Centre in Windhoek, Namibia, with lightning-quick movement and power.
Joao first grabbed the attention of officials, fans and competitors when she made light work of her South African opponent Jade Grundlingh in the first round of their semi-final bout with a vicious TKO inside the IMMAF octagon.
She again dished out more of those powerful fists and fancy footwork when she stopped her compatriot Indira Nogueira via technical knockout in the first two minutes of round one, cementing her place in IMMAF history and bagging her gold.
Entering the competition with a smaller team in comparison to their south-western African opponents, South Africa performed well, taking home 14 medals in the Junior/Senior leg, and remained the most competitive when looking at the ratio to the Angolan team.
Genevieve Tuson (Junior, Atomweight), JJ Karagiannidis (Junior, Featherweight), TJ Esterhuizen (Junior, Lightweight), Andrew Retief (Junior, Middleweight), Philani Ngqoyiya (Senior, Strawweight), Demi-Shaye Thomas (Senior, Featherweight), and Sisa Jungula (Senior, Bantamweight), all flew the South African flag, taking the top podium spot at the finals.
Lightweight champion of 2022, Lewis Mataya would claim Zimbabwe’s only gold medal after dropping a weight class and becoming the Featherweight champion.
DRC’s Jeremi Likobele not only won gold, but also became the owner of an International Mixed Martial Arts Federation record, delivering the fastest-ever KO, needing only five seconds to beat Angola’s William Bombo in their Senior Lightweight final. Likobele eclipsed Belgium’s Patrick Habirora’s nine seconds.
In the Senior Middleweight division, Gilbert Ndlovu brought lots of smiles to his Zambian teammates and coaches after he bagged Zambia’s only gold medal when Angola’s Grecio Lopes verbally submitted in the second round.
Last but not least, the crowd favourite and Namibian star Damian Muller also became a two-time champion after beating South Africa’s Obakeng Mahura by unanimous decision in their senior men’s Flyweight final.
The IMMAF returns next with the Asian Championships, taking place in Lahore, Pakistan for the first time, from August 18 to 22.
*Julian Kiewietz is in Windhoek for the IMMAF Africa Championships courtesy of Intergro.