Following last year’s successful Championships in Luanda, Angola, it was another fruitful tournament for IMMAF’s African Championships which concluded earlier this month.
Hosted in Windhoek, Namibia, 161 athletes from across the continent battled it out for glory over a four-day period.
It was the first time ever that the African Championships hosted Youth brackets at the competition, further proof of IMMAF’s dedication to providing a pathway for young athletes to flourish.
Yet again, Angola were the standout nation of the African Championships, bringing home a whopping 37 medals including 11 gold. South Africa finished second in the medal rankings with seven gold medals, followed by DR Congo in third with two.
Zambia, hosts Namibia and Zimbabwe achieved one gold each, with Cameroon winning silver and Egypt a solitary bronze medal respectively.
A full medal list can be found here: https://immaf.smoothcomp.com/cs/event/16508/results
Senior
South Africa’s Philani Ngqoyiya saw off Angola’s Francisco Tchapaina to kick off the senior finals, winning gold in the Strawweight category and it wasn’t long before the host nation clinched its first 2024 Africa title as local favourite Damian Muller made retained his Flyweight crown against South Africa’s Obakeng Mahura to become a 2-time champion.
Multi-time Africa Championships hosts South Africa added to their decorated continental history through Sisa Jungula, who saw off Zambia’s Abraham Banda to claim gold in the Bantamweight category and Zimbabwe’s Lewis Mataya claimed victory over Matias Monteiro to become Featherweight champion. Last year’s gold medallist Clécio Diogo earned bronze this time out.
Jeremie Likobele of the DR Congo made IMMAF history in the Lightweight category, needing just five seconds to KO Angola’s William Bombo to claim gold and a spot in the IMMAF record books.
Angola retained the Welterweight title, this time under Tulunda Daniel who saw off Tyrone Platt of South Africa.
The Middleweight division saw Zambia’s Gilbert Ndlovu win gold against Grécio Lopes, and saw Egypt planted a flag in ground upon claiming a first ever medal of the African Championships, through bronze medallist.
Anderson Gouveia dropped down a category from last year after winning Heavyweight gold in 2023, to this time claim the light heavyweight title for Angola. Meanwhile, Elfran Marques stepped up to claim the heavy weight title, beating Tinus Stoop of South Africa to the gold.
After before made to settle for silver in 2023, Helder Manuel found redemption against last year’s champion Nicklas Helander, to claim gold for himself and another title for Team Angola.
For the Women’s, Esperanca Pereira of Angola beat Zambia’s Shelda Chipito to claim the Flyweight gold as Demi-Shaye Thomas of South Africa won the Featherweight gold medal. Team Angola won gold in the Lightweight category with Jeorgina Ludmila beating teammate Bela Da Silva to claim her title.
Junior
In the under-21s divisions, Nkunga Vacanda fought back from disappointment last year to claim gold against silver medallist Mbuso Ngubane of South Africa, in the Flyweight division. José Simão was successful is his attempt to become a two-time African champion, besting Nqobiztha Msimango with South Africa claiming another silver medal.
The longtime IMMAF member nation is no stranger to gold however, and South Africa could not be held back in the featherweight and lightweight divisions with standouts JJ Karagiannidis and TJ Esterhuizen both taking home gold medals.
At welterweight, the up and come Team Congo cemented its potential for talent development with Josue Eli Wawina defending the 170lbs title with a victory over Cameroon’s Robert Gabriel Mbeeh.
Andrew Retief knocked last year’s champion Jones Simão Antonio Mabungu and Massano Mbimba defended retained the heavyweight title against teammate Carlos Anibal.
South Africa clinched addition junior success through Genevieve Tuson, who won gold in the Atomweight category for South Africa against Esmeralda Mbleum of Angola.
Angola picked up gold in both the women’s Strawweight and Bantamweight categories with Luhinga João and Teresa Dias picking up wins in their respective finals.
Following another successful African Championships, IMMAF President Kerrith Brown extended his thanks to all involved:
“On behalf of the IMMAF Board & CEO, I would like to thank our hosts, the Namibia MMA federation, Natasha De Sousa the president of the federation, and her team, alongside Carlos De Sousa, for hosting a fantastic African Championships, which held for the first time a Youth edition.
“Also a major thank you to all our sponsors, especially UFC, BRAVE CF, RDX, and BitDelta.
“I want to congratulate the coaches and athletes on their fantastic performances. It was an amazing tournament yet again, with some amazing talent being displayed, especially with the Youth Females.
“Our athletes have shown respect, honour, and integrity throughout the championship. Well done to you all.
“Thank you all for your support in the drive and delivery of IMMAF’s vision. Your loyalty and commitment are always greatly appreciated and without your hard work and determination, the event could not have been run this smoothly.
“I look forward to seeing you all at our next event.”
