Don “Magic Man” Madge
I started martial arts at age 5 with traditional styles like karate & judo. I have always been involved with martial arts, for as long as I can remember.
When I was 14 years old I stepped into my first Muay Thai class in Cape Town, and within 6 months I had my very first Muay Thai fight.
Winning various SA Muay Thai titles, I then moved to Thailand to pursue my Muay Thai career. I fought and lived the professional Muay Thai life in Thailand for almost 4 years, winning world titles as well as stadium titles while also having the opportunity of fighting at The King’s Cup on the late King of Thailand’s birthday. On my return to South Africa, the MMA scene was exploding and I could no longer get any Muay Thai fights locally as I had fought and beaten everyone there was to fight during that time. I then looked at the EFC as the next challenge and threw myself into full time MMA training and again within 6 months I debuted at the EFC winning by knockout in the first round in 2011. From there I went on the win the EFC lightweight title twice, once in 2013 and again in 2017.
In February 2018, I was signed by the UFC and made my debut in October 2018 winning by 2nd round KO, and winning knockout of the night in my very first appearance. I then went 2-0 by defeating my next opponent in September 2019 in Abu Dhabi, being the only South African ever to be successful in the UFC and win two back to back fights.
I am also an owner of the most popular boxing & Mma gym in Cape Town, MADfit MMA, which is owned by me and my long time friend and renown SA boxing coach Matthew Leisching, which has been operational since 2015. We have had the pleasure of having some of the world’s biggest names one through our gym, namely Roy Jones Jr, Travis Fimmel and Pearl Thusi.
Now 2-0 in the UFC my goal is to be the first person ever to bring a world title back to African soil and make history as well as leaving behind a legacy for future South Africans to follow.
Being a part of a company like African Cannamed is a huge honour as I am a big supporter of local businesses and because I truly believe in the healing properties of cannabis and CBD.
