Johnny Eblen, Dakota Ditcheva to compete in inaugural PFL Africa event in July
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
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