SA township fighter winning at life by beating the odds and competing in MMA championships
Children have a hard time believing Nkosi Ndebele when he tells them it isn’t cool to fight. How can a man who hits people all the time say fighting is wrong, they ask. Ndebele learned to fight to protect himself from bullies in Diepsloot as a teenager, and is about to turn professional as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter. He will make his pro debut at Sun City in December with Brave — a Bahrain-based fighting platform whose matches are watched by more than 180-million viewers — when it brings its empire to SA for the first time. If Brave likes what it sees, Ndebele he will join its global champs, who slug their way around the world. Ndebele, 23, is one of several youngsters identified as potential world champions by Jason van Schalkwyk, who screens Brave matches across Africa through his company Scuffle Media. The fight-focused entrepreneur also runs the Search for a Scrap reality show and owns a stake in Fightstar, Africa’s biggest MMA promotion. Many young South Africans have e...
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