Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva to compete in inaugural PFL Africa event in July
PFL's debut event in Africa will feature two of the promotion's biggest stars.
PFL Africa, led by chairman Francis Ngannou, officially is set to launch July 26 at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, promotion officials announced Wednesday morning.
Headlining the event will be Bellator champion Johnny Eblen (16-0), who defends his middleweight title against Costello van Steenis (16-3). In the co-main event, 2024 PFL women's flyweight champion Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) meets Hawaii's Sumiko Inaba (8-1).
𝘼𝙁𝙍𝙄𝘾𝘼. 𝙒𝙀 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙄𝙉𝙂 😤
PFL Africa launches Saturday 26th July at the GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa!
New stars will be born ⭐️
Champions will emerge 👑
History will be made 🔥#PFLCapeTown | Saturday July 26⁰GrandWest Arena | South Africa pic.twitter.com/dacs0Vzv3d
— PFLAfrica (@PFLAfrica) May 7, 2025
The fights featuring Eblen and Ditcheva are taking place under the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai branding, with three more expected to follow. It'll mark Eblen's first action since Oct. 19, 2024 when he defended his belt against Fabian Edwards. Ditcheva will compete for the first time since Nov. 29, 2024 when she defeated former UFC title challenger Taila Santos in the 2024 women's flyweight final.
The PFL Africa portion of the card marks the launch of the inaugural PFL Africa tournament, which features eight-man brackets in the heavyweight and bantamweight divisions. As of now, half of each field is set, with the PFL saying it will announce the remaining bouts soon.
The current PFL Africa card includes:
Johnny Eblen vs. Costello van Steenis – for middleweight title
Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba
Justin Clarke vs. Jashell Ticha Awa – PFL Africa heavyweight quarterfinal
Mahmoud Atef vs. Nkosi Ndebele – PFL Africa bantamweight quarterfinal
Abdoullah Kane vs. Mohammad Ben Yahia – PFL Africa heavyweight quarterfinal
Abderrahman Errachidy vs. Simbarashe Hokonya – PFL Africa bantamweight quarterfinal
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva return at inaugural PFL Africa event
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
New UFC antitrust lawsuit alleges all fighters harmed by 'UFC's scheme' to control MMA
New UFC antitrust lawsuit alleges all fighters harmed by 'UFC's scheme' to control MMA Phil Davis, the plaintiff in the lawsuit, said he's "proud to stand up for professional MMA fighters to unlock the UFC's stranglehold on the entire sport." The UFC is facing a new antitrust class-action lawsuit that argues the promotion's monosopsony powers financially harm all professional MMA fighters – not just those under contract with the UFC – and calls for an end to "the UFC's scheme." Berger Montague, the lawfirm that secured a $375 million settlement against the UFC in February, filed the lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Nevada, with former UFC and current PFL fighter Phil Davis named as the plaintiff. Zuffa LLC, TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC, and Endeavor Group Holdings are listed as the defendants. Unlike the Le v. Zuffa lawsuit that was settled in February, the Davis lawsuit seeks to be certified with all-non UFC fighters represented and does not seek monetary damages. In a written statement, Berger Montague said it seeks an injunction to prevent the UFC "from continuing its allegedly illegal scheme" and aims to "create conditions for free and fair competition among professional MMA promotions which, in turn, would bolster their careers and pay of professional MMA fighters across the sport." "I am proud to stand up for professional MMA fighters to unlock the UFC's stranglehold on the entire sport," Davis said in a statement. According to the lawsuit, "the UFC's scheme impairs professional MMA promotions like PFL in their ability to attract a critical mass of top-level MMA fighters necessary to compete with the UFC at the top tier of the sport of professional MMA, and otherwise substanstially forecloses competition in the markets relevant to this case. The UFC's scheme further restrains top-level fighters such as Mr. Davis from applying their trade by preventing these fighters from competing for titles in a free and unfettered market. As a result of the UFC's scheme, rival MMA promotions have been foreclosed and, as a result, would-be top-level MMA fighters at PFL and other non-UFC MMA promotions have had their careers impaired and their pay suppressed below the compensation that would prevail in a more competitive market." The lawsuit seeks to eliminate an array of restrictive clauses from UFC contracts and requests that fighters have the ability to terminate their contracts without penalty after one year. "The suit alleges that the UFC impairs the ability of would-be UFC competitors to attract a critical mass of top-level MMA fighters necessary to compete with the UFC at the top tier of the sport," Eric Cramer, lead attorney for Berger Montague, said in a statement. "We intend to prove that the UFC engaged in a predatory scheme to undermine would-be competitors to the UFC, which the suit claims had the effect of maintaining and enhancing the UFC's dominance, and thereby impairing the careers and pay not just of the UFC's own fighters, but also of professional MMA fighters like Mr. Davis competing for MMA promotions across the MMA industry." The Le v. Zuffa case covered UFC fighters who competed between 2010 to 2017. While that was still unfolding another lawsuit, Johnson v. Zuffa, representing fighters from 2017 to present day was filed and is still ongoing. The Davis lawsuit comes on the heels of another filed by former UFC light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov to represent fighters who have signed the most recent and restrictive UFC contracts.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
New UFC antitrust lawsuit alleges all fighters harmed by 'UFC's scheme' to control MMA
The UFC is facing a new antitrust class-action lawsuit that argues the promotion's monosopsony powers financially harm all professional MMA fighters – not just those under contract with the UFC – and calls for an end to "the UFC's scheme." Berger Montague, the lawfirm that secured a $375 million settlement against the UFC in February, filed the lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Nevada, with former UFC and current PFL fighter Phil Davis named as the plaintiff. Zuffa LLC, TKO Group Holdings, which owns the UFC, and Endeavor Group Holdings are listed as the defendants. Unlike the Le v. Zuffa lawsuit that was settled in February, the Davis lawsuit seeks to be certified with all-non UFC fighters represented and does not seek monetary damages. In a written statement, Berger Montague said it seeks an injunction to prevent the UFC "from continuing its allegedly illegal scheme" and aims to "create conditions for free and fair competition among professional MMA promotions which, in turn, would bolster their careers and pay of professional MMA fighters across the sport." "I am proud to stand up for professional MMA fighters to unlock the UFC's stranglehold on the entire sport," Davis said in a statement. According to the lawsuit, "the UFC's scheme impairs professional MMA promotions like PFL in their ability to attract a critical mass of top-level MMA fighters necessary to compete with the UFC at the top tier of the sport of professional MMA, and otherwise substanstially forecloses competition in the markets relevant to this case. The UFC's scheme further restrains top-level fighters such as Mr. Davis from applying their trade by preventing these fighters from competing for titles in a free and unfettered market. As a result of the UFC's scheme, rival MMA promotions have been foreclosed and, as a result, would-be top-level MMA fighters at PFL and other non-UFC MMA promotions have had their careers impaired and their pay suppressed below the compensation that would prevail in a more competitive market." The lawsuit seeks to eliminate an array of restrictive clauses from UFC contracts and requests that fighters have the ability to terminate their contracts without penalty after one year. "The suit alleges that the UFC impairs the ability of would-be UFC competitors to attract a critical mass of top-level MMA fighters necessary to compete with the UFC at the top tier of the sport," Eric Cramer, lead attorney for Berger Montague, said in a statement. "We intend to prove that the UFC engaged in a predatory scheme to undermine would-be competitors to the UFC, which the suit claims had the effect of maintaining and enhancing the UFC's dominance, and thereby impairing the careers and pay not just of the UFC's own fighters, but also of professional MMA fighters like Mr. Davis competing for MMA promotions across the MMA industry." The Le v. Zuffa case covered UFC fighters who competed between 2010 to 2017. While that was still unfolding another lawsuit, Johnson v. Zuffa, representing fighters from 2017 to present day was filed and is still ongoing. The Davis lawsuit comes on the heels of another filed by former UFC light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov to represent fighters who have signed the most recent and restrictive UFC contracts. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: New UFC antitrust lawsuit aims to end 'scheme' against all fighters
USA Today
5 days ago
- USA Today
Kevin Lee signs with PFL, steps into lightweight semifinal vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov
Kevin Lee signs with PFL, steps into lightweight semifinal vs. Gadzhi Rabadanov Kevin Lee has been searching for a home to continue his MMA career. Now he's found it with the PFL and is immediately shaking things up. The promotion announced Wednesday that former interim UFC title challenger Lee (20-8) has signed on to join the roster and will step into the lightweight tournament semifinals against 2024 PFL champion Gadzhi Rabadanov on June 20 at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. The fight will headline the 2025 PFL World Tournament 6: Semifinals event. Originally, Rabadanov was slated to fight Jay-Jay Wilson, who was forced to withdraw due to injury. "The Motown Phenom" has competed just once per year from 2020-2024, with his most recent bout a first-round submission of Thiago Oliveira at Lights Out Championship 17 in September. Lee, 32, was connected to the upstart GFL organization and one of the outspoken supporters of the proposed MMA promotion before it imploded weeks out from the inaugural event, leaving all signed athletes in limbo. Now Lee, who holds wins over the likes of Diego Sanchez, Edson Barboza, Michael Chiesa and more, will make his way to PFL and immediately position himself to potentially win a tournament title.
