CAPE TOWN - South Africa’s Dansheel “Buddha” Moodley may have emigrated to Australia, yet his heart forever “bleeds green”.
Speaking ahead of his BRAVE CF 66 fight in Bali, Indonesia, Moodley took a moment during media day to remind the people of Mzansi that his loyalties will always lie with his homeland.
“I will always be a South African. We have a saying back home "we bleed green".
"I can assure you that I will always bleed green,” said the BRAVE Combat Federation Flyweight who returns to the most-global MMA promotion to face the Philippines’ Jenel “The Demolition Man” Lausa in a 125-pound scrap.
“Buddha” returns to BRAVE CF after a stint in the African-based promotion, the EFC, where he recorded one loss and one win. In his last fight, he overcame the strong DRC judoka, Fafa Dwama, securing a unanimous decision win at EFC 96.
Before that EFC run, he last stepped into the BRAVE CF cage in 2019, where he secured two unanimous decision victories over France’s Noureddin Hezrat and Sweden’s Anton Larsson, respectively. He will look to pick up where he left off when he takes on Lausa who still seeks his first BRAVE CF win.
“It’s been three years since I fought in BRAVE Combat Federation. Three years, but not a three-year layoff. Three years of intense work. The pandemic obviously put a backseat to fighting in BRAVE CF, but I remained active, fighting in the last eight months.
"I’ve put in the hard miles in the gym, and those miles will pay off tonight. Hopefully, I can end the year with a fourth fight,” says Moodley.
Moodley (7-3) is ranked 11th out of 24 active professional Flyweights in South Africa. With his seven wins coming via decision, Moodley is not known for being flashy, yet, very effective with his grappling and wrestling as he looks to take his opponents to deep waters before grinding out decision victories. Moodley has always tipped as a future title contender, and with his renewed focus on BRAVE CF, his fourth appearance inside the BRAVE CF cage could be the beginning of a title run.
Moodley’s opponent, “The Demolition Man” is one of the most well-rounded Flyweights in the world with three decisions, two KO/TKOs, and two submission victories to his name.
Lausa, also a professional boxer, is as tough as they come as he has never been knocked out in 14 fights.
The former UFC athlete’s latest combat sports bout was a professional boxing match. There, he beat his countryman, Michael Escobia via KO in August.
He last stepped into an MMA cage at UAE Warriors where he lost to China’s Abdula Aliev via technical decision in March 2022. This will be Lausa’s second BRAVE CF showing after he failed to secure a W in his debut at BRAVE CF 47 where he lost to Kyrgyzstan’s Ryskulbek Ibraimov via unanimous decision.
“Jenel is a UFC vet with three fights in the organization. He is also a professional boxer, but this is not boxing, this is MMA. The range is different, and the levels are different. I hope that he has been training hard and working on his overall game because that is what I have focused on, completing my game as an MMA fighter,” added Moodley.
BRAVE CF 66 takes place today in Bali, Indonesia as the promotion returns to the world’s largest Archipelago state after four years. You can watch all the action on YouTube starting at 11.30 am SAST time.
For more information, visit www.bravecf.com
@juliankiewietz