Triumphant Mataya urges SA’s Zwane to reverse retirement: ‘There’s still a lot left in him’
By SportsCast Writer
HARARE – Zimbabwean mixed martial artist Lewis Mataya last week exploded into the limelight with a debut EFC fight win over Ayanda Zwane, sending the South African into early retirement from the sport.
28-year-old Mataya won the featherweight bout at the EFC Arena in Johannesburg last Thursday, a culmination of a 15-year long journey since he first took up martial arts in his early teens.
With that defeat, Zwane (27) made the immediate decision to quit MMA altogether, taking off his gloves and placing them in the octagon after the fight, signifying retirement.
Mataya, however, has urged on Zwane to reverse his decision and return to the ring.
“Instinctively, I saw him putting the gloves down and I knew what it meant,” Mataya told SportsCast this week.
“My instinct was to go pick up the gloves and hand them back to him, because he’s a year younger than me. He’s a very, very talented fighter. It didn’t feel right that he retired and as a fellow African brother, I feel he has so much to offer to this sport. So that’s why I picked up the gloves and gave them back because there is still a lot left in him. He’s a dangerous fighter. He recently fought for the title and fell short by a little bit, so he definitely has what it takes to rise up the ranks. Him losing to me should not be the end of his career.”
Mataya’s preparations for the fight started early, and he felt in prime shape by the time he arrived in Johannesburg last week.
“Last month, I did a competition in Cape Town, and I did a two-week training camp there with my old coach, Steve Bazzea,” Mataya said.
“From there, I came back to Zimbabwe and trained every day. I trained three times a day in preparation for this event. Yes, there were a little bit of nerves, but I wasn’t afraid because anything I could possibly do to win, I did.”
To fund his training camp for the fight, Mataya had to sell his car, one of his most prized assets. A tough decision, but one that has paid off for the hard-hitting Zimbabwean.
“I’ve been in this sport for 15 years now, and I realise now that victory lies in preparation,” he said.
“So the more I sacrifice, the higher my chances of winning because mentally I’m prepared to win. It means I’ve done everything I could possibly do. The second thing is that the more you sacrifice, the more resources you have. So I know this game, I’ve been in it for a while. I know that the more resources I have, the better I can prepare.”
Mataya’s first contact with martial arts was the same with most young men, through admiration of some of the world’s greatest names in the genre.
“I’ve always loved martial arts,” Mataya said.
“I used to watch Bruce Lee movies, Jackie Chan movies, Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. It resonated well with me so I decided to pursue mixed martial arts and from there I grew as a fighter, as a person, as a man, as a family man. So ja, I’m motivated by conquering challenges and rising above, becoming the man I can be proud to be.”
Born in Chimanimani in the mountainous Manicaland province of eastern Zimbabwe, Mataya attended several primary schools before settling at Manyame Airbase just outside Harare, where he did part of his senior school at later on at Cranborne Boys High in the capital city.
His upbringing in military surroundings also cultivated a fondness for martial arts and a wide variety of other codes.
“I’ve always been active in sports, my very first sport was actually track-and-field,” Mataya said.
“I used to be very good at sprinting; 100 metres, 400 metres, those were my favourites. Marathon, too, then javelin, high jump, I did all those. Relays were also fun. The I started playing volleyball, I didn’t like it. Then I started playing football, I played for a long time since form two, form three, form four, Lower Six. Then I stopped in Upper Six when I started mixed martial arts at a much higher level. I had started mixed martial arts with taekwondo at Manyame Airbase. I was part of civilians who trained with soldiers at Manyame until I became an instructor at the airbase. I was instructing clubs, not necessarily training soldiers. After that I went to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I did Muay Thai, I did judo, I did boxing. I did so many arts, wrestling in Dubai, I’ve traveled all over, learning mixed arts and upgrading my skills.”
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