MMA veterans such as Mark Hulme, Reinaldo Eskson, Ashely Cavert and JC Lamprecht had bouts scheduled during a year which ended with a memorable night at the Johannesburg base on Thursday.

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Speaking to SABC Sport, Cairo reflected on a busy 12 months.

"We've seen some great new talent coming through, we've seen the return of a lot of athletes who, if I can say, grew up with EFC and were here in the beginning, went overseas, fought at different promotions around the world, and have now returned," said Howarth.

"So we've actually seen our roster get really, really strong from a talent point of view, with new ones coming in plus the return of old ones with more international experience coming in.

"It's actually been a year of, I'd say, really good building from an athlete talent point of view."

Howarth also welcomes feedback from fighters who explored MMA outside the African continent.

"I think the sport in Africa, in general, is just growing so much at the moment, and this sport has exploded globally, but we've really seen a big uptick in the last year just from an interest and athlete point of view," he added.

"It's awesome, we love it when our EFC athletes go and get opportunities to fight on international fight cards and events, and then they come back to us with positive feedback, saying, 'The grass isn't always greener. EFC is amazing, we love this platform.'"

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