The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced that its inaugural event on the African continent will now take place earlier than initially scheduled. The event, originally set for July 26, has been officially moved to July 19.
PFL Africa is set to be held at the GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa. The fight night is structured as a unique double-header event. The second portion of the evening is designated as a PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai card, headlined by a middleweight title defense featuring reigning champion Johnny Eblen against challenger Costello van Steenis.
Serving as the co-main event for the Champions Series portion, undefeated flyweight contender Dakota Ditcheva is scheduled to compete against Sumiko Inaba.
The first part of the event, officially titled PFL Africa 1, will feature the commencement of the league’s regional tournaments specifically for the Africa division. Fighters in both the heavyweight and bantamweight categories will be in action, competing in the opening rounds.
The announced lineup for the PFL Africa 1 event includes:
- Nkosi Ndebele vs. Mahmoud Atef — Bantamweight
- Maxwell Djantou Nana vs. Mikael Groguhe — Heavyweight
- Shannon Van Tonder vs. Boule Godogo — Bantamweight
- Jashell Ticha Awa vs. Justin Clarke — Heavyweight
- Antero Dos Santos vs. Karim Henniene — Bantamweight
- Abdoullah Kane vs. Mohammed Ben Yahia — Heavyweight
- Simbarashe Hokonya vs. Alain Majorique — Bantamweight
- Badredinne Medkouri vs. TBD — Heavyweight
- Juliet Ukah vs. TBD
This adjustment in the schedule notably positions the PFL event to occur on the same date as UFC 318. That competing UFC card is expected to be headlined by a highly anticipated trilogy bout between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier, a fight currently promoted as potentially being Poirier`s final professional appearance.
Percy Harlow