Fighters Only South Africa has given us a sneak peek at the article they’ve put together on EFC AFRICA heavyweight title challenger Bernardo Mikixi. Read on to discover the roots of one of the most intimidating warriors on the African continent. 

Hailing from the Angolan diamond mining town of Dundo, Bernardo ‘Black Panther’ Mikixi will have to dig deep and unearth his full potential if he hopes to leave EFC Africa 16 on 19 October with the continent’s most coveted MMA jewel. Current heavyweight champion Ruan Potts has never been beaten, but he’s never been on the receiving end of a Mikixi hammer fist. As fans know, when the Angolan goliath’s strikes hit home, it’s usually blood that hits the floor.

Mikixi grew up in north-eastern Angola just 24km from the country’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. His mother was from DRC while his father was a successful Angolan businessman in the diamond trade, which made Mikixi’s childhood fairly comfortable, at least as comfortable as any could be during a civil war.
“When I was young I thought I’d go into business like my father, but he didn’t want me getting involved in the diamond trade because of how dangerous it could be. The diamond business was full of gangsters, so he encouraged me to pay attention in school and get a proper education.”

While in school, Mikixi took up judo with a number of his friends. However, his father didn’t respect judo and much preferred him wearing gloves to a gi.
“My friends all did judo but my father said it was for girls. He wanted me to do boxing because he was a boxer in his day, so I started boxing and didn’t mind getting punched in the face. Mike Tyson was my hero and I used to stay up all night to watch his fights. I wanted to be just like him and in Angola I became a national amateur boxing champion. I still loved judo though, and when my father went away on business I always went back to it.”

With combat an ever-present way of life in Angola during Mikixi’s formative years, it comes as no surprise that school was rough. As a teen, Mikixi found himself in more and more schoolyard scraps, until one day his family was informed of his wayward behaviour.
“I got in a fight and the other kid’s family followed me home. They told my father I beat up their son, so my father told me off and sent me to my room. When they left, my father came to me and said ‘You’re the man! This is what I want to hear, my son can fight!’ It was funny, he was proud of me but he couldn’t show it in public. After that he usually only punished me for fighting if I lost. If I ever complained to him about getting beat up at school he beat me up more!”

Read more in the September issue of Fighters Only, available from 29 August. Find out about all of Mikixi’s MMA fights, his aspirations, his thoughts on SA’s heavies, and how he tried to cut off his own tattoo! All this and much more in the next issue of Fighters Only.

See Mikixi in action at EFC AFRICA 16, presented by MusclePharm, at the Carnival City Big Top Arena on 19 October. Tickets on sale soon at Computicket www.computicket.com and tickets for the live broadcast to Nu Metro Cinemas available soon at www.numetro.co.za. The three main card bouts will be broadcast live across Africa on e.tv, starting at 22h30 CAT.