MIXED Martial Arts (MMA) star, Simbarashe Hokonya is in the country on a mini-break after recently defeating Frans Mlambo in South Africa to go six matches undefeated in the Professional Fighting League.

The dusty streets of Chitungwiza have seen many young dreams take flight, but few soar as high and as far as those of Simbarashe “The Hawk” Hokonya.

Fresh from an undefeated run in South Africa that has cemented his name among Africa’s fastest-rising fighters, Hokonya is unrecognisable clad in a cap, making his way to a local gym in Chitungwiza, where he honed his then boxing skills.

For years, Hokonya fought his battles away from home, grinding through training camps in Johannesburg and stepping into cages under the glaring lights of Extreme Fighting Championship (EFC) and most recently, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Africa.

His record speaks for itself, six wins, no defeats, with his latest victory coming in Cape Town against a seasoned Irish opponent, Frans Mlambo, in July.

That win not only extended his unbeaten streak but also punched his ticket to the PFL Africa Bantamweight semi-finals.

Now back in the high-density suburb where his journey began, Hokonya is not just another returning son, he is a symbol of resilience for a community where opportunity often feels like a fight in itself.

“I had to work hard. There were moments I told myself that I was not going to do this again, but the next day I would work harder, come back more motivated and wanting to do more, especially for my mother,” he stated.

The Hawk played rugby as a kid before taking up boxing as a career and his coach felt he had a great career ahead of him.

“When we train kids, we want the best for them and in Simba, we saw a lot of potential and he was destined to be a great boxer,” Trainer, Phillip ‘Mad Cobra’ Musariri said.

Hokonya moved to South Africa wanting to continue with his boxing career and as fate would have it, he joined a gym that was being run by Themba Gorimbo, a Zimbabwean Mixed Martial Arts star and the Hawk was asked just to try MMA for fun.

“I did not want to do MMA, so the gym I joined was training that and that is how I started. That is the same gym that had the likes of Sylvester Chipfumbu as well and I started training for fun until this day.”

Hokonya’s return is more than a personal victory lap, together with his best friend, Beven Sibanda, the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) straw-weight champion. He plans to host training clinics in local schools, hoping to expose young athletes to martial arts as both a sport and a discipline for life.

It is a gesture rooted in gratitude and in the belief that talent in Chitungwiza, if nurtured, can rise to the world stage.

A very spiritual man, Hokonya was in the country to attend the Zion Christian Church Zuva ra Nehemiah celebrations in Gokwe.

“I am here because of God. Every time I step into the octagon, I pray and ask for guidance, I believe he is the light and like Proverbs says, God is our light, if the gatekeeper keeps without God then he does it in vain,” he said.

As the sun dipped behind the township’s skyline, the sounds of children’s laughter mixed with the chatter of neighbours, they finally recognise Simba, the boy who used to shadow-box at the bus terminus.”

In the eyes of Chitungwiza, he has come full circle, from a young fighter chasing a dream to a champion carrying the dreams of many.

And if the nickname “The Hawk” is anything to go by, Simbarashe Hokonya is still flying, but this time, his wings stretch proudly over home soil.