Uganda’s female mixed martial arts (MMA) prodigy Rebecca Amongin needed only 30 seconds to knock out Kenya’s sensation Felista Mugo to become the new East and Central Africa featherweight champion.

Amongin, 22, shocked many Kenyan fans who had filled the Kenyatta University main campus auditorium when she defeated their own Mugo in an emphatic victory.

The two fighters had to tussle it out for five rounds but Mugo could only last less than a minute.

Amongin came into this fight as a late substitute to South Africa’s Santa Marie who was earlier meant to take on Mugo only for the latter to withdraw from this fight, a fortnight to the event citing an injury she had suffered during training.

“To God be this victory, I can’t thank him enough because who knew that I would become a champion in MMA,” a joyful Among said.

“It’s as if I'm dreaming, I received an invitation for this fight two weeks back, but because I train on a daily, I couldn’t blow away this chance.”

Amongin who combines boxing with other combat sports like kickboxing and taekwondo at Police Boxing Club has set another tone becoming the fastest regional title holder with just two MMA fights.

Her MMA debut was in April when she defeated long-time rival Brenda Masendi of Uganda prisons.

The two first clashed in 2018 as undercards at the Moses Golola vs Umar Semata fight at Freedom City in Najjanankumbi.

Amongin still cruised past Masendi with a unanimous victory.

“I attribute my fine start in MMA to my background as a fighter. I have been in boxing and kickboxing for a while, and I believe the two sports disciplines have made me sail through MMA with ease,” Amongin said.

In boxing, Amongin has been featuring for the national boxing team, the bombers since 2018 and was part of the team that featured at the 2019 Morocco Africa games before being eliminated at the quarter-finals.