PFL Founder Donn Davis was in the nation’s capital for PFL Washington on Friday, which closed out the semifinal round of this year’s PFL Global tournament.
Kicking off the night in D.C. was a pair of African fighters in Maxwell Djantou Nana and Shido Boris Esperanca, who happened to secure the only two finishes on the ten-fight card. That sort of showing boasts well for PFL Africa, the promotion’s latest regional league, set to launch next year.
“I think you saw tonight with the two African fighters, what’s possible,” noted Davis. “You’ve seen with the three kings [Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya, and Kamaru Usman] what’s possible on the highest level. So I just think we’re very proud to engage a continent, and maybe give them a second major sport.”
“You’ve often heard me say, China, India, Africa. They don’t have a second favorite sport. And I think with PFL, we can grow and develop fighters, but we can also really engage and give fans a second favorite sport. I think PFL Africa in April 2025 is going to be the one to watch.”
Davis would later compare the possibilities that await in Africa with PFL Middle East-North Africa [PFL MENA], which launched earlier this year.
“We’ve grown from about 100,000 viewers of the Global product in the Middle East, to over 1,000,000 viewers per event for PFL [MENA]. Think how astounding that is. So obviously the Global product is technically superior fighters, a way more expensive fight card, but we’re doing ten times the amount of viewers because it’s their league, their local heroes, their storylines,” noted Davis. “We think that’s what you’re going to see whether it’s in Africa, Australia, or Latin America we go to next.”
Donn Davis also touched on the league’s success in signing fresh talent out from under the UFC‘s nose, something he credits to the league’s format, as well as superior scouting and technology.
“Why did Baki [Baissangour Chamsoudinov], [Cedric] Doumbe, Paul Hughes, or Dakota [Ditcheva] come to PFL over UFC? We ain’t paying them that much more money,” suggested Davis. “It’s, they have the opportunity to win that PFL Europe championship, and then go to the PFL GLobal league. No one’s holding them back, they’re under nobody’s thumb. So the meritocracy and the format is ultimately why we’re winning more of these fighters, even though I think our technology and our scouting is a little bit superior.”
Watch the full PFL Washington press conference appearance by Donn Davis above.
