Author – Drew Beaupre
Weightclass: Featherweight
Record: 6-0, 1 NC
Age: 23
Height: 5’10”
Born in: Zambia
Training out of: Team CIT
Combined opponents’ record (at the time they fought): 24-17
Key wins: Roedie Roets and Jean-Jacques Lubaya
He unfortunately missed weight ahead of the event and was forced to relinquish his interim EFC belt, but featherweight prospect Ken Sekeletu will still have the chance to extend his undefeated record when he headlines EFC 128 against Billy Oosthuizen tomorrow.
The 23-year-old began his amateur MMA career in 2021 and stopped three-straight opponents before submitting Luan Shaka on the 2022 IMMAF Africa Championships opening day in April of 2022. Sekeletu defeated Claudio Tulunda via decision to advance to the tournament’s lightweight finals, where he fell to Lewis Mataya on the scorecards to close out his time as an amateur fighter.
Sekeletu turned pro in the summer of 2023 with South Africa’s EFC and stopped Warren Richards in the first round. He followed that up with a 37-second finish of Andile Gasa three months later, and in 2024 he also stopped Tapiwa Katikati and Nkosi Doyisa with strikes before he bested the formerly-undefeated Jean-Jacques Lubaya by unanimous decision at EFC 116.
The Zambian’s last outing of 2024 unfortunately ended in a No Contest when it was determined that he’d landed a low blow during a first-round finishing sequence against former EFC title challenger Vince Bembe, but in March, he returned to defeat The Ultimate Fighter Season 32 competitor Roedie Roets and claimed the promotion’s interim featherweight title.
Comfortable working from both orthodox and southpaw, Sekeletu is at his most dangerous when an opponent gives him the space he needs to batter them with kicks. He’ll chew up both the inside and outside of their lead leg to set up high kick attempts that he’ll often switch stances off of, and he’s also got nasty body kicks that are more than capable of folding an opponent if they don’t make an effort to defend the attack.
“The Takeover” will also look for knees to the head and body of his opposition, both in space and in the clinch. While his punching output isn’t always the highest, he does boast quite a bit of power in his hands. He’ll use his rear straight as both a lead and counter shot, and from an orthodox stance, he also likes to follow that with a left hook or load up on that punch as a counter as well.
As dangerous as he is on the feet, Sekeletu is also very willing to mix things up and bring opponents to the mat. He doesn’t usually have significant success on his takedown attempts in open space, but he does well to back opponents to the fence and time his shots there when his opposition decides to try and strike their way off the cage.
On the ground, the Zambian will quickly try to establish knee on belly before transitioning into mount. He loves to land heavy ground and pound, and even likes to mix up some big shots to the body from this position if an opponent covers their head. Sekeletu isn’t a submission-first fighter on the ground, but he will look to snatch armbars from this position and also flashed a mounted guillotine against Lubaya that may have forced a tap if the round didn’t end.
The Lubaya fight was certainly the most intriguing of Sekeltu’s pro outings so far. It was the only time “The Takeover” has gone the 15-minute distance, and Lubaya was able to find success kicking Sekeltu’s legs, keeping him on the back foot during a lot of the striking exchanges, and clinching up with him against the cage for long periods of the fight.
Sekeltu did pass a solid test against Lubaya even though he was challenged significantly, and at only 23 years old, he’s a very interesting featherweight prospect with proven finishing ability and an exciting fighting style. It’s unfortunate that he missed weight ahead of the Oosthuizen fight and had to relinquish his interim belt, but another victory against an experienced opponent would likely put him right back in line for another EFC title bout.