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Johannesburg - Demarte Pena has defended his featherweight title for a fourth consecutive time when he defeated Abdul Hassan at the 21st edition of the Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) Africa, mixed martial arts series in Brakpan on Thursday night.
The highly-anticipated clash came to somewhat of an anticlimactic end, after the Durban-based Hassan could not continue past the opening round due to an injury inflicted by Pena.
The victory extended Pena's undefeated run to seven fights and he is yet to suffer a loss on the EFC circuit, ensuring he held onto his belt.
Pena -- 12 years Hassan's junior -- showed his dominance early on, leaving his opponent in trouble at the end of the opening round.
Hassan walked gingerly to his corner and convened with his trainer before deciding to call a premature end to the bout, citing an ankle injury as the reason for his withdrawal.
Referee Wiekus Swart was left with no choice but to call a stop to the fight, declaring Pena the champion and in doing so, extended the gritty Angolan fighter's unbeaten record.
In the rest of the main card bouts, JC Lampbrecht had no problems against Jason Culverwell, disposing of his opponent three-and-a-half minutes into the opening round of their middleweight fight.
Gareth Buirski needed just 34 seconds to bring his featherweight contest against Francois Groenewald to an abrupt end, knocking Groenewald to the ground, before unleashing a barrage of heavy blows which led Buirski to a well-earned victory.
Former heavyweight champion Ruan Potts hardly broke a sweat in beating Egyptian giant Mahmoud Hassan, overcoming the challenger a mere 37 seconds into the first round, courtesy of a well-executed ankle lock.
Fellow heavyweight contender Sors Grobbelaar sent out a clear message as to his title ambitions, dismantling Bernardo Mikixi in the final round of their bout and putting himself in pole position to challenge Andrew van Zyl for the title.
