Johannesburg - Angola’s Helder Manuel will carry the hopes of Africa when he competes in the IMMAF World Championships final in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday.
Super heavyweight (+120kg) Manuel advanced to the final and will now compete for his place on top of the podium after beating Italy’s Sergio Leveque and compatriot Jose Txambunga via TKO and arm triangle submission, respectively, in the knockout rounds.
Manuel now faces 2022 Asian gold medallist Rassul Khatayev from Kazakhstan for the gold medal on Friday on day six of the championships.
Muhammad Mall was Team South Africa’s last chance at a medal, however, he bowed out of the tournament on Wednesday when he lost to the Czech Republic’s Tagir Machmudov via technical knockout in round one of their semi-final clash.
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The first segment of the awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, which will then be followed by the junior finals set to begin at 6pm.
The IMMAF World Championships form part of the BRAVE Serbia International Week, which will run until Saturday when BRAVE CF 69 concludes the week-long festival with an exciting nine-fight card.
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Brave Combat Federation’s first fight card of the year is headlined by Kyrgyzstan’s Abdisalam Kubanychbek and Dagestan’s Kamil Magomedov, who will compete for the undisputed lightweight title.