Overview EFC is Africa's mixed martial arts promotion, fighting in a six-sided cage it calls the Hexagon, and Dricus du Plessis held its middleweight and welterweight belts before he went on to win the UFC middleweight title. It runs 10 numbered fight nights a year, most of them at its own WSB EFC Arena in Johannesburg, and produces every broadcast itself for networks across Africa and abroad. Its contracted fighters come from South Africa, Angola, the DRC, Nigeria, Egypt, Ireland, France, Poland and England. The Howarth brothers - Cairo, Silas and Calvin - founded EFC in Johannesburg in 2009. On site A fight night splits into an afternoon prelim session and an evening main card; on the late-2026 schedule they started at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. South African time, on Thursdays. The WSB EFC Arena is an industrial-chic room that holds about 500. The main card is five bouts in a three-hour live production, with commentary in English, French and Portuguese. Before it, fighters weigh in on camera in Johannesburg, and after it they sit for a post-event press conference. EFC's ring models come out Hexagon-side before every round. Audience EFC's own read of its core fan is a young urban man who watches the fights live, shares clips while they are still happening and follows fighters like celebrities, down to commenting on their callouts. A second, growing group of women arrives through fighter stories, the behind-the-scenes prep and live events. EFC says its Facebook video passed 3 billion minutes viewed between 2022 and 2024, all of it organic. Talent and Influencers The fighters are the influencers here, and EFC sells their endorsements, training content and fight-week lead-ups directly. Du Plessis's line in the deck is "Without the EFC, I wouldn't be where I am today." Garreth McLellan and two-time lightweight champion Don Madge also went from EFC to the UFC. In 2017 EFC launched The Fighter, a reality series with 10 fighters in one house under two rival champions; it ran two seasons. Track record EFC's first event was on 10 November 2009 at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg. It has spent more than a decade on international networks including ESPN Sports Europe, DAZN, FOX Asia, Canal+ and SuperSport, with free-to-air deals in Africa on SABC, KTN, UBC and TV Zimbo, and its archive holds over 700 hours of fights, highlights and episodes. The fight nights feed a year-round output of 50 one-hour fight episodes and 50 highlight packages. Brand presence EFC caps itself at seven main partners, each with category exclusivity, and every one owns a piece of the fight: the headline partner takes title rights across every EFC property; others own the betting information and tale of the tape, the athletes' prep zone and walkout, the call that starts each round, the ring models, the replay package, and the host position. All seven carry Hexagon branding. World Sports Betting's name is on the arena. On broadcast, partners add 30-second spots, sponsor bumpers and branded commentary promotion.