Johannesburg - South Africa’s Willie van Rooyen advanced to the quarter-finals of the IMMAF World Championships after a highlight-reel finish in Belgrade, Serbia, on Monday.
Van Rooyen is the only South African who has secured a victory so far after some hard-fought bouts by Mixed Martial Arts South Africa’s stars.
On Monday, Van Rooyen delivered a beautiful technical knockout to Lebanon’s Mohammad Fakhreddine in the first round of their junior bantamweight (61.2kg) bout.
Van Rooyen tested his range with his jabs before delivering an impressive right straight, left hook, and high-head kick to Fakhreddine, who then dropped to the canvas before the referee got involved, to call it a day.
Don’t blink 💥
— IMMAF (@IMMAFed) February 13, 2023
Van Rooyen with an incredible high kick to secure a TKO finish in the Junior Male Bantamweight RO16 🔥 Catch every bout from the #2022MMAWorlds LIVE on IMMAF TV ➡️ https://t.co/ioBy9qIDsE#BICW2023 #MMASBR2023 pic.twitter.com/3rXp8xEvQ7
Van Rooyen next faces Kazakhstan’s Chingis Idrissov at 12.30pm on Tuesday.
The South African’s fellow junior teammate, Muhammad Mall (middleweight) will make his first appearance on Tuesday in the quarter-finals when he takes on Romania’s Stefan Mihaila in their 83.9kg bout at 1 pm.
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The world championships feature as part of IMMAF World Championship Week, an eight-day spectacle promoted by the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation, Serbian MMA Federation, and BRAVE Combat Federation in conjunction with BRAVE Serbia International Combat Week 2023. This is the biggest event in the international governing body’s 11-year history.
The senior (21+) and junior (18-20) competitions will take place until Friday, with the junior and senior finals taking place on Thursday and Friday at 5 pm.
You can watch all the action on immaf.tv.
Full results:
Juniors
Willie van Rooyen (Bantamweight) beat Mohammad Fakhreddine via TKO in round one.
Dylan Behrens (Middleweight) lost to Muhammadabdulaziz Shodiboev via unanimous decision.
Seniors
Philani Shabalala (Flyweight) lost to Dmytro Makarov via unanimous decision.
Kelvin Smit (Flyweight) lost to Jorge Perez via armbar submission in round two.
Sipho Mlaba (Bantamweight) lost by unanimous decision to Samir Smaali.
Thimna Mhluali (Featherweight) lost to Alexandrie Rita via unanimous decision.
Nicolaas Vermaak (Lightweight) lost to George Staines via TKO in round two.
Throne Msibi (Welterweight) lost to Lester Batres via unanimous decision.
Adebayo Ojewole (Middleweight) lost to Elizio Zua via unanimous decision.
Johan Pfahl (Light Heavyweight) Kristian Hoibo via triangle choke submission in round three.
IOL Sport