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Cape Town - Stuart Austin wants a piece of former EFC heavyweight king Ruan Potts, but may have to make do with a title shot instead.
Austin (13-5) called out ex-UFC athlete Potts (11-7) after sensationally knocking out another South African MMA legend Andrew van Zyl (19-5) a round into their contest in December 2018.
And while Potts seemed game, EFC matchmaker Graeme Cartmell has indicated Austin could next get the winner of champion Jared Vanderaa’s (8-3) clash with Ricky Misholas (7-7) in Pretoria on March 16.
READ: Vanderaa seeks to emulate Dalcha
“Ja, Potts is going to fight,” Cartmell told fans during a Q&A session on Facebook.
“We love having Potts at Carnival City, that’s his hometown. So I’m going to organise him a fight. He’s right up there.
“He’s always a guy that you want to see fight some new contenders who want to come in and prove themselves. I mean he’s former UFC. He’s a former EFC champion. He’s a boss, he’s great.”
Cartmell added: “That guy wants an opportunity at the strap all the time, but he just lost his last fight, gracefully. Awesome fight, and he wants to get back in there.
“I know Stuart Austin and him were trying to have a go at one another for that fight, we’ll see what’s gonna happen there.
“Austin is a great contender and personally I’d love us to all focus on Vanderaa and Ricky Misholas because I think that’s gonna be a banger. And the winner of that to get involved with Stuart Austin could be a really flipping hot fight to watch.”
On the night England’s Austin starched Van Zyl, who retired after the only KO loss of his career, Vanderaa TKO’d Potts three rounds into their battle for the interim belt at Time Square.
America’s Vanderaa became the undisputed champ when Dalcha Lungiambula (9-1) traded the EFC for the UFC in the new year and relinquished the strap.
READ: Update on Dalcha’s UFC debut
