Tumelo Manyamala earned himself a shot at the EFC Worldwide flyweight belt with a violent first-round finish at EFC 130. <\/p>\n
Much of the attention of the MMA world has been dominated this week by a massive UFC 323 event<\/a> set to take place on Saturday night in Las Vegas, NV. The card features two title bouts, and it will also serve as the final PPV offering of the ESPN era before the UFC begins its new deal with Paramount<\/a> next year. <\/p>\n There\u2019s still plenty of regional MMA action outside of the UFC for fans to take in this week, and today South Africa’s EFC 130 saw Manyamala and his countryman Ntando Zondi set themselves up to fight for the promotion\u2019s vacant flyweight belt next year. <\/p>\n Tumelo Manyamala Face Plants First Opponent After TUF 33<\/p>\n Taking on fellow South African Lihle Ngamnthwini in the EFC 130 co-main event, Manyamala was competing for the first time since he appeared on Season 33 of The Ultimate Fighter and was submitted by Roybert Echeverria in his only fight on the show. <\/p>\n READ MORE: UFC fan favorite aims to end losing skid against towering KO artist at UFC 325<\/a><\/p>\n While he missed out on a chance to join the UFC through TUF, \u201cMellow\u201d was booked to challenge EFC Flyweight Champion Willie van Rooyen after returning to the promotion. Van Rooyen\u2019s decision to sign with ONE Championship left the flyweight title vacant, and EFC elected to set up a four-man tournament to crown a new champion at 125 lbs. <\/p>\n Fight week has hit FULL THROTTLE here at the WSB ARENA for #EFC130<\/a> – The Flyweight Grand Prix is ON \ud83d\ude4c pic.twitter.com\/G7vDIOz5xo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 EFC Worldwide (@EFCworldwide) December 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It only took two minutes of action for Manyamala to rattle Ngamnthwini and send him to the canvas. \u201cRush Hour\u201d impressively survived an onslaught of ground and pound to return to his feet and even managed to connect with a big counter punch while his opponent was airborne, but Manyamala pressed his advantage until his countryman ended up face down in the middle of the cage (clip courtesy of the one and only @Grabaka_Hitman<\/a>).<\/p>\n Delayed reaction faceplant KO by Tumelo Manyamala (7-1) against Lihle Ngamnthwini #EFC130<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/rRP47XW6m0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) December 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The result marked just the second time that Ngamnthwini has lost in his professional MMA career after he dropped a decision in his debut and rebounded with five-straight wins. Manyamala\u2019s only career loss outside of TUF came to Road to UFC veteran Mark Climaco under the UAE Warriors banner last year.<\/p>\n READ MORE: UFC Champion Tom Aspinall shares scary update on eye injuries<\/a><\/p>\n The 26-year-old will have the chance to attract the attention of the UFC once again when he fights for the vacant EFC flyweight belt next year against Zondi, who took a unanimous decision over Nathanial Komana in the EFC 130 main event. <\/p>\n There\u2019s only ONE Ntando Zondi! \u2014 EFC Worldwide (@EFCworldwide) December 4, 2025<\/a>More MMA Knockout News<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0UFC Champion Tom Aspinall reveals brutal communication breakdown from Dana White<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a02 banger fights reportedly set for UFC’s return to Mexico in 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Ex-UFC champ shuts down report of Ronda Rousey vs. Katie Taylor boxing match<\/a><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0MMA fighter batters unconscious opponent following vicious slam KO<\/a><\/p>\n Stick with\u00a0MMAKnockout<\/a>\u00a0for more FREE coverage of the UFC and MMA.<\/p>\n Follow MMAKnockout on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Zulu Warrior\u2019 will meet Tumelo Manyamala in the finals of the flyweight Grand Prix! #EFC130<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/dr6Hh0m9lG<\/a><\/p>\n