BREAKING | PFL Africa 2025: second leg set for Johannesburg’s Big Top Arena on Women's Day
MMA
Angola’s Shido Boris Esperanca (9-1), who was victorious in his PFL debut, returns to action against Gambia’s Ibrahima Mané (14-5) in a Welterweight bout. | PFL
Image: PFL
Angola’s Shido Boris Esperanca (9-1), who was victorious in his PFL debut, returns to action against Gambia’s Ibrahima Mané (14-5) in a Welterweight bout. | PFL
Image: PFL
The 2025 PFL Africa Tournament will include four events across Africa, featuring 32 top fighters from 15 African countries, all aiming to chase PFL gold (in four different divisions) and an opportunity to open even bigger doors within the PFL business model.
The first round of the tournament will take place at the Grand Arena, GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World, Cape Town, on 19 July. That show will include first-round matchups in the Heavyweight and Bantamweight divisions, each featuring an eight-man bracket, as contestants aim to advance to the semi-finals set for October.
On 9 August, the Welterweight and Featherweight divisions will be on display as the inaugural tournament continues towards crowning the first-ever PFL Africa champions.
Headlining the second show is a Featherweight first-round bout featuring Nigeria’s Patrick Ocheme (6-1) against Guinea’s Mohamed Camara (5-2-1) in a high-stakes matchup between two of the best West Africans in the world. In the co-main event, Angola’s Shido Boris Esperança (9-1), who was victorious in his PFL debut, returns to action against Gambia’s Ibrahima Mané (14-5) in a Welterweight first-round bout. Additional matchups will be announced shortly.
The rest of the fight card is yet to be confirmed.
Next month, at the very first show, 18 African fighters are locked in for a showdown at Grand Arena.
Among the fighters competing in PFL Africa’s first show will be South Africa’s former BRAVE CF Bantamweight champion Nkosi Ndebele, who takes on Egypt’s Mahmoud Atef. Also competing in the Bantamweight knockout tournament will be EFC star and Zimbabwe’s unbeaten Simbarashe Hokonya, who battles another unbeaten prospect, Cameroon’s Alain Majorique.
In the Heavyweight category, South Africa’s Justin Clark takes on Majorique’s compatriot Jashell Ticha Awa, and Senegal’s Abdoullah Kane meets Morocco’s Mohammad Ben Yahia.
In a showcase Women’s Strawweight bout, the dangerous and unbeaten Nigerian Juliet Ukah takes on South Africa’s Ceileight Niedermayr, who is no stranger to the pressure of the bright lights on the international stage.
This card will be headlined by five high-stakes PFL Champions Series fights featuring elite global talent. The main event will see undefeated Middleweight World Champion Johnny “Pressure” Eblen put his perfect record and title on the line against Spain’s surging contender Costello “The Spaniard” van Steenis (16-3).
In the co-main event, Women’s Flyweight phenom “Dangerous” Dakota Ditcheva, widely considered one of the top pound-for-pound female fighters in MMA, faces Hawaii’s elite striker Sumiko “Lady Samurai” Inaba in a thrilling penultimate bout.
Tickets for PFL Africa Johannesburg go on sale this Thursday, 12 June, via TicketPro. Fight fans are encouraged to secure seats early for what promises to be another electric night in the SmartCage.
African fight fans will be pleased to learn of the PFL’s latest announcement.
The Professional Fighters League today confirmed that the second leg of the inaugural 2025 PFL Africa Tournament will take place at the Big Top Arena, Carnival City, Johannesburg, on 9 August.
Earlier this year, the Professional Fighters League — one of the two biggest MMA brands in the world — announced its groundbreaking decision to create a new league on the African continent as part of its global expansion plan, following the launch of other PFL leagues, including PFL MENA and PFL Europe.