Amateur Mixed Martial Arts competitor Jonathan van Cittert has earned a shot at the light heavyweight title after he overcame former team-mate Reshard Kelly at Gods of War 3 in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Held at The Barn in Greenbushes, the light heavyweight bout, which was the evening’s main event, saw Van Cittert, who fights out of Black Dragons MMA (BD) in East London, claim victory via technical knockout over Kelly, who now fights out of the Bonzai School and Fitness in the Bay, two minutes and 27 seconds into round one.
Speaking after the fight Van Cittert said: “It did not go quite as I wanted to, but I kept on the attack, took him to the ground and finished him.
“That was my plan all along but I would say it came together nicely. Some of my punches were not as technical as I would like, I was throwing a little bit wild.
“But I managed to get a few good knees in and I managed to work the back of his head against the cage, pinned his hands out of the way and just bumped him until there was nothing left,” Van Cittert said.
The East London based fighter said he was happy with the way he has progressed over the last few years and was looking forward to going up against Wayne Strydom, who fights out of Bushido Muay Thai and MMA gym in the Metro, at the next GoW tournament.
“I fight as an amateur, so I don’t paid. I do it [MMA] for the love of the sport. It really takes a lot of practice to learn these skills, make them second nature and apply them under pressure,” he added.
The evening began with a feather-weight bout between Bonzai fighter Kyle Raatz and Black Dragon’s Liliso Jubasa. Jubasa claimed a TKO victory one min and 55 secs into round one.
Pretoria-based Mamelodi Warriors (MW) fighter Jason Swart claimed a TKO victory in his lightweight bout against Bonzai’s Devan van Heerden, one minute and 38 secs into the third round.
Festino Fortuin claimed a submission victory over MW fighter Bevan Adams 50 secs into round two of the flyweight match-up which was fought under junior rules.
In one of the highlights of the evening, BD fighter Palone Chigome rewrote the GoW history books as he claimed an eight-second TKO victory over Mamelodi Warrior Reginald Dithupe in their catchweight bout.
Chigome landed a powerful kick which floored Dithupe, and despite rising to his feet shortly after, the referee stopped the match only eight secs into round one.
Thabo Mampa from MW earned a submission victory over Bonzai fighter Paul Kemp, two mins and 48 secs into round one of their lightweight bout.
The middleweight clash between Bonzai’s Cayden Kleinhans and Kenan Hornabrook, training out of Edge Fitness Club in Walmer, went the way of Hornabrook, as he won by submission, 53 secs into the first round.
Another lightweight bout saw Bonzai fighter Ndiliseko Bangani get a TKO victory over Mcebo Mchali from MW, the win coming 39 secs into round one.
The evening was not without its ups and downs as Cee-Jade Westraadt was disqualified for an illegal strike, handing victory to Letsholo Makgalemela from MW in the lightweight duel, one min and 27 secs in the opening round.
The co-main event was a lightweight clash between BD fighter Gerald Holtzhausen and Croydon Rigney from MW. Holtzhausen took a TKO victory 21 secs into the opening round.
Event organiser Martin Marx said the light-heavyweight title, which will be contested between van Cittert and Strydom would be the first title to be released under the GoW stable.
“This was our best event to date. It was just over a year ago that we held our first GoW tournament. It has grown as we continue to improve wherever we can. Judging by this evening, myself and everybody involved are excited to see what the future holds for us and for GoW,” he added.