Weigh-ins for the event, which will determine the finalists in the PFL Africa bantamweight, featherweight, welterweight, and heavyweight tournaments, were not exactly an orderly affair. In fact, an entire featherweight semifinal was demoted after both Patrick Ocheme (156.2 lbs) vs. Abdoul Razac Sankara (151 lbs) missed weight for their fight. It’s now a catchweight “showcase” bout, while Mohamed Camara vs. Alain Majorique gets to take its place in the tournament.

Two other fighters also missed weight, with both of their respective bouts moving forward. Results from Friday’s weigh-in can be found below.

2025 PFL Africa Semifinals: Rwanda Weigh-In Results

Bantamweight Semifinal Main Event: Nkosi Ndebele (135.6 lbs) vs. Simbarashe Hokonya
(135.2 lbs)
Welterweight Semifinal Co-Main Event: Shido Boris Esperança (170.6 lbs) vs. Octave Ayinda (169.2 lbs)
Heavyweight Semifinal Bout: Maxwell Djantou Nana (263.2 lbs) vs. Justin Clarke (244.6 lbs)
157 lbs Catchweight Showcase Bout: Patrick Ocheme (156.2 lbs) vs. Abdoul Razac Sankara
(151 lbs)*
Heavyweight Semifinal Bout: Abraham Bably (245 lbs) vs. Joffie Houlton (263.8 lbs)
Bantamweight Semifinal Bout: Boule Godogo (135.4 lbs) vs. Karim Henniène (137.2 lbs)**
Welterweight Semifinal Bout: Yabna N’tchala (170.4 lbs) vs. Emilios Dassi (170.6 lbs)
Featherweight Semifinal Bout: Wasi Adeshina (148 lbs)*** vs. Dwight Joseph (145.6 lbs)
Featherweight Showcase Bout: James Opio (146) vs Isaac Omeda (139.8)
Alternate Heavyweight Bout: Abdoulaye Kane (263.8 lbs) vs. Emmanuel Mukam (235.6 lbs)
Semifinal Featherweight Bout: Mohamed Camara (145.8 lbs) vs. Alain Majorique (146 lbs)

* Ocheme vs Sankara is now a 157 lbs Catchweight Showcase after both missed weight. Camara vs Majorique replaces it as the Featherweight Semifinal.

** Henniène missed weight; Godogo will receive 20% of his purse.

*** Adeshina missed the 146 lbs featherweight limit; Joseph will receive 20% of his purse.

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The show marked the debut of PFL Africa, with the undercard dedicated to African talent and the main card doubling as PFL Champions Series 2.  That featured Eblen vs. van Steenis, two Bellator middleweight stars, plus Dakota Ditcheva, the PFL women’s flyweight champ (in a non-title fight), and ex-Bellator featherweight champ AJ McKee.

Where to Watch PFL Africa/PFL Champions Series 2

PFL Cape Town takes place on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at the GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa. The main card streams live on ESPN+, the PFL Africa portion on the PFL App. Full results can be found below.

PFL Cape Town: Eblen vs. van Steenis Results

PFL Champions Series 2 (Main card)

Middleweight: Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen (c) by technical submission (rear-naked choke), Round 5, 4:51 – Middleweight title fight
Women’s Flyweight: Dakota Ditcheva def. Sumiko Inaba by unanimous decision
Featherweight: A. J. McKee def. Akhmed Magomedov by unanimous decision
Lightweight: Makkasharip Zaynukov def. Takeshi Izumi by unanimous decision
Heavyweight: Corey Anderson def. Denis Goltsov by TKO, Round 3, 3:28

2025 PFL Africa 1 (Preliminary card)

Bantamweight: Nkosi Ndebele def. Mahmoud Atef by TKO, Round 1, 4:50 – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Maxwell Djantou Nana def. Mickaël Groguhe by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Bantamweight: Boule Godogo def. Shannon van Tonder by split decision (30-26, 28-29, 29-27) – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Justin Clarke def. Jashell Ticha Awa by TKO (corner stoppage) Round 1, 5:00 – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Bantamweight: Karim Henniene def. Asiashu Tshitamba by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Joffie Houlton def. Abdoullah Kane by DQ (illegal strikes), Round 1, 0:40 – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Bantamweight: Simbarashe Hokonya def. Frans Mlambo by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25) – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Abraham Bably def. Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze by KO, Round 1, 4:59 – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Women’s Strawweight: Juliet Ukah def. Ceileigh Niedermayr by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post PFL Cape Town: Eblen vs. van Steenis Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’ve been very excited, but I’ll be honest, I’m spending most of my time in my room. I just wanna punch this kid’s head off,” Bably said during this week’s PFL Cape Town media day. “I keep thinking it’s Friday, I’m unaware of the days at the moment, I’m just too excited for this one.”

Bably has experienced the best and worst that life has to offer within the past year, but uses it as motivation to continue pushing to the top.

“Last year, my mom died, I had a son, I lost in Saudi, a split decision that some people thought I won. But so be it, I always pick myself up, and if you can’t pick yourself up as a man, then who are you? So I’ve shown myself that I am ‘The One and Only’ and that is a big statement itself. It means a lot for me to have this opportunity and prove myself right as always.”

“Of course, it played a role. There are people who lose their parents, and they completely fall off track. For me, I still had to fight and show what I was about.”

Abraham Bably Looking to Show More of His Skillset

Bably hasn’t had much of a chance to prove himself up to this point in his career, as he was thrown right into the fire early on. The continued development of his skills has been key for Bably to keep up with more experienced fighters.

“I’ve barely shown anything, I got signed to the PFL at 1-0. I’ve had no regional scenes, I haven’t had the chance to have sambo, karate, boxing. I’m still fresh in this game, and I’m only 29; I’m barely in my prime. So for me, it’s about showing what else I’ve got in my game, and I can’t wait to show it.”

Bably continued, “How many people get signed to a big organization at 1-0 and are still proving themselves right? I had a split decision against an Olympic wrestler… my last fight against Rodrigo, top 15 in the UFC, who had a harder fight against me than the fight he just had against a dominant Russian fighter.”

Bably acknowledged that his opponent for this weekend, Paul-Emannuel Gnaze, is a game fighter, but admits he doesn’t care that he stepped up as a short-notice replacement.

“I couldn’t give a damn about him either. He’ll know very soon. I’ve watched his fights, I know he’s a serious man, I know he’s coming top fight, but I’ll punch his head off too.”

Watch the full PFL Africa media day appearance by Abraham Bably above.

The post Abraham Bably Ready to Show New Layers to His Game, Pushing Through Adversity appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ukah’s debut will come at the inaugural PFL Africa event this Saturday, when the PFL takes on Cape Town in their newest expansion. Her fight will open the card against hometown Ceileigh Niedermayr, marking a massive step for WMMA in Africa.

“It’s good experience for me because it’s like a dream come true. It’s something I’ve been working for all my life, waiting for this time to happen,” she stated during this week’s media day. “So I’m very much happy to be the first person on this card, and I believe it’s gonna be a good platform for the younger ones coming up.”

Ukah has found herself in a position where younger fighters are looking up to her for inspiration, but doesn’t seem bothered by the pressure that comes along with it.

“Basically all of my career I’ve been kind of a motivation to younger ones growing up. It’s quite a pressure, but I think it’s just a part of me because I’m used to being pressured about doing what I know best.”

Juliet Ukah embraces being the Face of WMMA in Africa

Ukah’s goal is simple: to drive African MMA to a new level of popularity while making women in Africa more comfortable with fighting. She feels the strides the sport has made in Africa haven’t translated to women’s MMA as well as they should be.

“It has grown a very long way, especially in Africa. But mostly, I believe that for females, it has not grown so much. Females need to come out and showcase their talent, showcase who they are, so they can also have this opportunity that the guys have.”

Ukah also discussed being in the spotlight for women’s MMA in Africa and how she has no issue being the face of the push.

“If I don’t go to the media, then how will the world know there’s a female in Africa? So I need to also let people understand that we have females in Africa who are also strong.”

Watch the full PFL Africa media day appearance by Juliet Ukah above.

The post Juliet Ukah Honored to Be the Face of WMMA in Africa, Inspire The Next Generation appeared first on Cageside Press.

Headlined by Johnny Eblen versus Costello Van Steenis for the promotion’s middleweight championship, carried over from Bellator MMA, PFL Cape Town also features the return of promotional darling Dakota Ditcheva, the heir apparent to Kayla Harrison in the Professional Fighters League.

With Harrison now a UFC champion and the featherweight division mothballed in favor of flyweight, it’s Ditcheva who is the company’s current “It Girl.” Her 14-0 record with a win last November over ex-UFC title challenger Taila Santos has cemented that.

Weigh-ins for PFL Cape Town take place on Friday, July 18, 2025 – results can be found below.

PFL Cape Town: Eblen vs. van Steenis Weigh-In Results

PFL Champions Series 2 (Main card)

Middleweight: Johnny Eblen (c) (185) vs. Costello van Steenis (184.6) – Middleweight title fight
Women’s Flyweight: Dakota Ditcheva (125.4) vs. Sumiko Inaba (124.6)
Featherweight: A. J. McKee (146) vs. Akhmed Magomedov (145.4)
Lightweight: Makkasharip Zaynukov (155.6) vs. Takeshi Izumi (155.2)
Heavyweight: Corey Anderson (254.6) vs. Denis Goltsov (240.8)

2025 PFL Africa 1 (Preliminary card)

Bantamweight: Nkosi Ndebele (135.6) vs. Mahmoud Atef (134.4) – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Maxwell Djantou Nana (264.2) vs. Mickaël Groguhe (265.2) – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Bantamweight: Shannon van Tonder (136.2)* vs. Boule Godogo (135.6) – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Jashell Ticha Awa (261.1) vs. Justin Clarke (239.6) – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Bantamweight: Asiashu Tshitamba (136) vs. Karim Henniene (135.8) – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Abdoullah Kane (264.2) vs. Joffie Houlton (262) – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Bantamweight: Frans Mlambo (135) vs. Simbarashe Hokonya (135.8) – bantamweight tournament quarterfinal
Heavyweight: Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze (251.2) vs. Abraham Bably (254.6) – heavyweight tournament quarterfinal
Women’s Strawweight: Juliet Ukah (115.2) vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr (115.4)

* Van Tonder missed the bantamweight limit by 0.2lbs, will be fined a percentage of his purse, fight moves forward.

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McKee is at a crucial turning point in his career heading into PFL Cape Town. Coming into this fight off just the second loss of his 24-fight career, McKee is hungry to return to title contention. Following a four-fight win streak at lightweight, McKee dropped a split decision against Paul Hughes in a title eliminator, forcing his hand to make a decision he had long seen coming: his return to 145 pounds.

AJ McKee ready to reclaim status as top featherweight

McKee made his plans clear ahead of his return to featherweight, speaking during the PFL Cape Town media day.

“Just coming back to the 145-pound division and showing everyone again who the best in the world is at this division.”

“I think now it’s honestly a bit easier going back down. When I was younger, I didn’t really diet properly. Just young and a little reckless, so you do wild things, but being a bit older now, I’d say it’s not as hard.”

McKee’s move to 155 had been criticized, as his performances seemed less impressive than when at 145. Despite this, he still fought his way into the title picture, all while knowing his return to featherweight was imminent.

“I was a fight away from the title at 155, lost a split decision, I wasn’t healthy, hadn’t been healthy. I just figured, what better time? I’m healthy and I wanna reclaim being the best in the world.”

McKee continued, “I think that everything happens the way it’s supposed to, the way that it needs. I’ve always said it, I’m really not a 155-pounder; everyone knows I’m a 145-pounder, so I was just having fun. I was eating blueberry banana pancakes and chicken parm every day. Going back to 145 pounds, I’m just meaner, hungrier, and that’s where my advantage is.”

McKee gets the chance to throw his name back into title contention at 145 pounds this weekend in South Africa, a new location with cultural meaning for McKee.

“I think it’s awesome to be here in South Africa, especially with my family coming from Africa. We’ve talked about it for many years. Being able to come here and have business and have fans here already, it’s phenomenal. It’s awesome to be embraced by the people embraced by the culture and showcase my skillset at the same time.”

Watch the full PFL Africa media day appearance by AJ McKee above.

The post AJ McKee Coming Back to “Show Who The Best in The World Is” at 145 Pounds appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yet there’s been a bigger fight that Anderson (18-6, 1NC) has been paying attention to as well: the battle that Ben Askren has been fighting over the past six weeks or so. Askren, suddenly falling ill and suffering a severe case of pneumonia, received a double lung transplant recently. The former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight star’s sudden health struggle took many by surprise, and Anderson previously opened up about how much Askren had meant to both his personal and professional life.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Anderson revealed that Askren had encouraged him to pursue MMA, and even invited him to the gym where he met his wife. On Wednesday, during the PFL Africa media day, the former UFC light heavyweight told Cageside Press and other media outlets that seeing Askren talking and breathing under his own power again was “a blessing.”

“It’s great. It’s a blessing. You pray on it, you pray on it. Me and the wife pray on it. I talked to the wife before I came down here, I guess she talked to his wife and they’re still in hospital and they’re recovering and going through things,” Anderson stated. “It’s still a long uproad battle before he’s out and completely fine, but the aspect of seeing Ben talking and breathing again on his own, without a machine pumping him, and interacting with people- he’s sending out text messages now, he’s reposting posts, he’s actually doing posts himself, talking on the camera. That kind of brings tears to your eyes, because at one point in time you’re at the lowest point thinking the guy that kind of helped you find the life you have and helped you find a career and family almost no longer existed.”

Anderson lives four hours away from Askren when he’s not in fight camp, and while he hasn’t been home in a bit, he plans to visit Askren soon. “When this fight is over I’m going to get back and make sure I make it to his house someway, somehow and go see him and tell him exactly how much he really means to me. Show him how thankful I am before, who knows- anything can happen with his new lungs or anything can happen in life, and he’s gone and I’m not able to tell him that.”

Watch the full PFL Africa media day appearance by Corey Anderson above.

The post PFL Africa’s Corey Anderson: Seeing Ben Askren Breathing On His Own “Brings Tears to Your Eyes” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Enter Dakaota Ditcheva.

The women’s flyweight star has clearly arrived, winning both a PFL Europe and PFL Global title, and landing herself a co-headlining spot on this Saturday’s PFL Africa card. The event is the promotion’s debut in South Africa, taking place in Cape Town, and while headlined by Johnny Eblen defending his middleweight title (carried over from Bellator), there’s little question that Ditcheva is the promotion’s new face.

The British striker is an undefeated 14-0, and decimated former UFC title challenger Taila Santos to win the PFL women’s flyweight championship last year. This Saturday she returns against Bellator veteran Sumiko Inaba, in a non-title fight that is more about keeping the 26-year old active than anything.

As she explained during the PFL Africa media day on Wednesday, Dakota Ditcheva is well aware of the opportunities being afforded her.

“I feel really privileged for sure,” stated Ditcheva. “Not just South Africa alone but this sport has given me crazy opportunities. I’ve traveled to quite a few different countries with PFL and definitely a few states as well.”

“This is obviously another historic event for PFL but kind of a big milestone for me and my career as well, to be co-main event on such a big platform. So I count myself very lucky. Every fight I count myself lucky but this one is amazing to be a part of for sure. It feels a little bit different.”

Ditcheva has been a magnet for arm-chair matchmakers during her rise to the top. The 26-year old has looked better each time out, which has fans already booking future fights. Liz Carmouche, the former UFC title challenger and Bellator flyweight champion, is one name that comes up frequently. How does Ditcheva handle that pressure? By avoiding looking too far ahead.

“I just take things one at a time. I’ve done that my whole career. I never looked too far ahead,” explained Ditcheva. “People always say ‘what’s your goals in the next five years?’ Honestly, I haven’t got a clue. If you had asked me three years ago, ‘was this your goal right now?’ I would have said ‘no.’ So I just take every day as it is, I just count myself very lucky to be having the opportunities that I do.”

Watch the full PFL Africa media day appearance by Dakota Ditcheva above.

The post PFL Africa: Dakota Ditcheva Never Looks Too Far Ahead appeared first on Cageside Press.

PFL Africa Launches This July!!!

32 fighters from 14 nations compete in 4 single elimination events to become PFL 2025 Africa Champion …

3rd regional league from @PFLMMA

May 6 major press announcement with fighter roster and event location details!#PFLMMA #PFLAfrica pic.twitter.com/BTxtajy22e

— Donn Davis (@DonnDavisPFL) April 22, 2025

The PFL has been looking to make the move into Africa with it’s own regional league since signing Francis Ngannou and naming him chairman of PFL Africa in 2023. A little over two-years later they have finally announced that the league will in fact materialize.

“PFL African Launches This July!!!,” wrote Davis on X.

“32 fighters from 14 nations compete in 4 single elimination events to become PFL 2025 Africa Champion…

3rd regional league from @PFLMMA

May 6 major press announcement with fighter roster and event location details!”

Ngannou (18-3) is chairman and equity owner in PFL Africa as part of his deal with the promotion. The former UFC heavyweight champion signed his deal in 2023, but did not compete for the PFL until October 2024 at PFL Super Fights in Riyadh. He lost two boxing matches before stepping into the PFL cage.

It adds another interesting to the PFL story that has really picked up steam since absorbing Bellator in November 2023. Since then the PFL has continued to hold events, eventually letting Bellator fade into the night, but not without controversy.

Since the merger some of Bellator and PFL’s top fighters have complained publicly about lack of fights. Patricio Pitbull campaigned for his release until he got it and eventually signed with the UFC. Aaron Pico made his move to the UFC as well.

PFL star Dakota Ditcheva spoke out in an interview with MMA Junkie about wanting to get a fight booked badly. The next day Davis posted on X announcing that an announcement with fight dates and opponents for Ditcheva and stars like Patchy Mix and Johnny Eblen were coming.

The story gets more interesting every month with the PFL.

The post PFL Africa Set To Launch In July With 4 Single-Elimination Events appeared first on Cageside Press.

On Wednesday, league officials announced the company’s updated plans for it’s Africa offering, which will see heavyweight Francis Ngannou acting as Chairman. Helios Sports & Entertainment Group, a private equity firm, has also come onboard as a stakeholder, having made an investment in PFL Africa.

Helios Sports & Entertainment Group is a branch of Helios Investment Partners, named as Private Equity International’s Africa firm of the year for the fifth year running in 2023.

“The Professional Fighters League is excited to announce PFL Africa, the third international fight franchise as we continue on our path to becoming the Champions League of MMA,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray, quoted in Wednesday’s press release. “Africa is home to some of the greatest fighters in the world, including our league Chairman Francis Ngannou, and some of the greatest fans in the sport. PFL Africa aims to serve the great fans with premium content while strengthening the PFL global footprint in what has for too long been an underserved market. Alongside our great investment and broadcast partners we cannot wait to kick off PFL Africa league action in 2025.”

The Professional Fighters League has previously found success with PFL Europe, which has produced stars like Dakota Ditcheva and Cedric Doumbe. Earlier this year, the promotion also launched PFL MENA (Middle East-North Africa).

The post With Francis Ngannou as Chairman, PFL Africa Set for Q2 2025 Launch appeared first on Cageside Press.