A new main card fight for EFC Africa 16 has been confirmed as Jadyson Costa (8-12-1) faces Michiel Opperman (8-6) in welterweight battle. The event is set to take place at the Carnival City Big Top Arena on Oct. 19.

The bout was announced by EFC Africa officials via official press release.

EFC Africa 16 will feature a headline bout between Ruan Potts and Bernardo Mikixi who will face of in a heavyweight showdown. Also, Tiny Strauss takes on Ricky Misholas in a heavyweight battle. The three main card bouts will be broadcast live across Africa one.tv, starting at 22h30 CAT. More information available at efcafrica.com.

Jadyson Costa is currently riding a three fight winning streak, most recently defeating Dallas Jakobi via fourth round TKO at EFC Africa 13 in April. Prior to that he scored a first round submission victory over James Rennie at EFC Africa 11, and another first round submission win over Wade Henderson at EFC Africa 10 during 2011. Costa will now look to pick up a fourth straight win against Opperman.

Costa recently returned from a training camp in Brazil where he sharpened his skills in preparation for the bout. Here is what he had to say:

“My trip to Brazil was excellent! I had great sparring sessions with the best BJJ fighters in the world and worked on perfecting my BJJ under master Barbosa. I also saw my family and friends, so when I returned I was refreshed and ready to prepare for EFC AFRICA 16. My training is going very well so far, I’ve had great sessions of physical conditioning with my strength and conditioning trainer Charl, and I have great sparring sessions and roll for hours every day. When I’m not training I spend my time surfing, it helps me relax and the ice water helps my muscles recover.”

African athletes have been unable to solve the problem of Costa’s well-rounded skill set, but Pretoria’s Michiel Opperman thinks he may have the answer. Costa prizes his EFC Africa championship belt above all else, and warns that Opperman has no hope of taking it away.

“It was my childhood dream to become a champion, and now that I’m living my dream I won’t let anybody come close to ruining it. My trip to Brazil definitely helped because training with some of the best guys in the world builds confidence. I am always confident in my abilities, and now just a little more! I know Michiel is training hard and I hope he comes prepared. I’m coming into this fight more focussed and determined than when I took the title from Dallas Jakobi, so I promise that Michiel is not going to enjoy this fight. When I have him in a submission hold I’m going to squeeze him so tight he won’t even be able to move his eyes!”

Michiel Opperman is currently riding a seven fight winning streak, most recently defeating Martin van Staden via first round submission at EFC Africa 13 in April. Just prior to that he scored a second round submission over Dino Bagattin at EFC Africa 12 in May. The well-rounded fighter has not lost since March 2011, where he was defeated via first round submission by Malcolm McCann at “XFC Africa – Fight Club 5”. Opperman will no doubt look to put another notch in the win column with a good performance against Costa.

Stay close to The MMA Review (themmareview.co.uk) for all the latest EFC Africa news.

Jay Cee – The MMA Review

@themmareview