Cape Town - The EFC’s first two-division champion Dricus du Plessis has relinquished his welterweight belt.
Du Plessis (12-2) says he will no longer compete at 77kg due to health concerns over a tough weight-cut.
With this development, DR Congo’s Gunther Kalunda (5-0) is now the EFC’s undisputed welterweight champ, having claimed interim honours after a five-round war with Jose da Rocha (10-5) in September 2018.
Du Plessis' struggles on the scale caused him to withdraw from his KSW 47 fight with Borys Mankowski (19-7-1) in Poland on March 23, according to The Body Lock.
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“I want to give a massive thanks to the fans and EFC for giving me the support and opportunity to be the first double-division champ in EFC history,” Du Plessis said.
“It is definitely one of the proudest moments of my life. Unfortunately, due to potential health implications, a decision was made with my doctors and team that I will no longer make the big cut down to 77kg/170lbs.
“I’m looking forward to defending my middleweight belt in EFC and now that I can focus 100% on middleweight, you will see the best version of ‘Stillknocks’ to date, and that’s a promise!”
Du Plessis remains the EFC middleweight king, and will keep a close eye on the interim title fight between former strap holder Garreth McLellan (13-6) and TF1 winner Brendan Lesar (2-0) on May 4.
“I’m keen to see if Brendan has the heart and what it takes to rise to the occasion against Garreth’s experience, because I have both,” Du Plessis added.
Kalunda, meanwhile, has a few potential opponents for his first title defence.
EFC 78 on April 13 sees Luke Michael (4-3) battle Conrad Seabi (6-5), while at EFC 79 Brazil’s Da Rocha takes on Zimbabwe’s Themba Gorimbo (6-2) in another match-up between contenders.