EFC 138 Preview: Djikasa vs. Born for Vacant Heavyweight Title
A new heavyweight champion will be crowned at EFC 138. Former two-time titleholder Matunga Djikasa meets undefeated contender Terrence “The Mountain” Born in the October 1 main event at the World Sports Betting EFC Arena in Johannesburg, with the vacant EFC heavyweight championship on the line.
The vacancy was created after Adama Diop, who stopped Djikasa to win the belt at EFC 132 in April, gave up the championship ahead of his Dana White’s Contender Series opportunity. That puts Djikasa immediately back into familiar territory while giving Born his first five-round title fight after a remarkably destructive start to his professional career.
Matunga Djikasa goes after a third EFC heavyweight title
Matunga Djikasa vs. Terrence Born is a straightforward old-guard-versus-new-generation heavyweight matchup. Djikasa has already twice reached the top of EFC Worldwide; Born has needed only four professional fights to earn his first championship opportunity.
Djikasa first became EFC heavyweight champion in October 2022, stopping Vandam Mbuyi in Round 3 at EFC 98. He later left the promotion and vacated the championship before returning to reclaim it in 2025.
That second reign came through Elvis Moyo at EFC 127. Djikasa stopped Moyo with punches at 3:15 of Round 2 to regain the belt, a fight covered in MMAtown’s EFC 127 Moyo vs. Djikasa feature. His reign ended seven months later when Diop stopped him at 3:29 of Round 2.
So EFC 138 is not simply another comeback fight for the 40-year-old heavyweight. A victory would make Djikasa a three-time EFC champion and immediately erase much of the sting from the Diop loss.
Terrence Born has finished every professional opponent
Born enters at 4-0, with all four victories coming by knockout or TKO. More tellingly, three of those four opponents failed to make it out of the opening round.
His professional debut against Jeremie Tshibala lasted into Round 2 before Born finished with punches at 1:57. Since then, the fights have become progressively shorter. He knocked out Tico Van Den Berg at 2:56 of Round 1 at EFC 125, stopped Sholto Luiters after only 38 seconds at EFC 129 and then overwhelmed Christophe Walravens in 41 seconds at EFC 131.
That last win established Born as the leading contender in the division. Four fights is still a small professional sample, but there is nothing ambiguous about how he earned the opportunity: four fights, four stoppages and no judges required.
Djikasa is a considerable jump in experience. He has fought for EFC heavyweight gold several times, competed outside the promotion and already knows what a prolonged championship fight feels like. Born, by contrast, has never reached a third professional round. That gap is one of the most interesting questions in the EFC 138 main event. Born has looked overwhelming early; Djikasa is by far the most experienced heavyweight he has been asked to overwhelm.
Gift Walker vs. Sithembiso Hadebe carries bantamweight stakes
The supporting card includes Gift Walker vs. Sithembiso Hadebe, another matchup with clear relevance inside its division.
Walker is a former EFC flyweight champion who has since moved up to bantamweight. His last appearance came against Faeez Jacobs at EFC 135, where Walker pushed the champion through five rounds before losing a unanimous decision. That competitive title fight is available in MMAtown’s Faeez Jacobs vs. Gift Walker highlights.
Hadebe returned to EFC at EFC 136 after nearly two years away from the promotion and defeated Godfrey Mkhwanazi by unanimous decision. Beating a former champion in Walker would give him a much stronger argument for a place near the top of the current bantamweight picture; Walker, meanwhile, needs a win to start another run after coming up short against Jacobs.
EFC 138 brings several developing matchups to Johannesburg
The card underneath the two featured bouts mixes experienced EFC names with fighters still establishing themselves in the promotion.
Unbeaten Clelio Diogo meets Godfrey Mkhwanazi. Diogo is 3-0 professionally and has submitted each of his last two opponents by rear-naked choke, including Nicolaas Vermaak in the opening round at EFC 135. Mkhwanazi returns quickly after his August decision loss to Hadebe.
Steven Goncalves vs. Vince Bembe puts two much more experienced fighters together. Goncalves enters at 9-6 and returned to the win column by submitting Roberto Miyaba with a first-round rear-naked choke at EFC 131. Bembe, an EFC veteran with previous championship experience, is trying to halt a difficult recent run.
Khanyo Maqam vs. Osvaldo Benedito adds another finishing-heavy matchup. Maqam has won three of his four professional fights and stopped Emmanuel Sita late in Round 2 at EFC 135, while Angola’s Benedito has yet to have any of his five professional bouts reach the scorecards.
Djikasa’s experience meets Born’s perfect finishing record
The official EFC 138 promo is ultimately built around a simple heavyweight question. Djikasa has already proved twice that he can become EFC champion, but he now has to rebound from losing the belt to Diop. Born has looked untouchable through four professional fights, but has never faced anyone with Djikasa’s championship experience.
For Djikasa, October 1 is a chance to become heavyweight champion for a third time. For Born, it is the point where an undefeated prospect run either becomes an EFC championship reign or meets its first real setback.
EFC 138 takes place Thursday, October 1 at the World Sports Betting EFC Arena in Johannesburg. The preliminary card begins at 14:00 CAT, with the main card scheduled for 19:00 CAT.