Latest news with #PFLAfrica
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
A.J. McKee, Corey Anderson join inaugural PFL Africa lineup in July
A.J. McKee, Corey Anderson join inaugural PFL Africa lineup in July 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 #PFLCapeTown 𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗗 Stayed tuned as more fight announcements are on the way! 🔜👀 Tickets are on SALE NOW for July 19th 👇 🎟️ #PFLChampionSeries — PFL (@PFLMMA) May 23, 2025 PFL Africa continues to add some of the promotion's biggest names. Former Bellator champion A.J. McKee (22-2) returns to featherweight to take on Akhmed Magomedov (11-1) July 19 at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, promotion officials announced Friday morning. McKee is coming off a split decision loss to Paul Hughes this past October at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants. Meanwhile, Magomedov has won five of his past six fights, most recently submitting Nathan Kelly in January. Also joining the lineup is a heavyweight matchup between Corey Anderson (18-6-1) and Denis Goltsov (36-8). Anderson hasn't competed since claiming the vacant Bellator light heavyweight title with a win over Karl Moore in March 2024. 2024 PFL heavyweight tournament winner Goltsov will look to make it five straight victories. He has finished his past seven wins. The current PFL Africa card includes:
IOL News
20-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
PFL Africa moves debut event to July 19; tickets on sale this Thursday
Former UFC Heavyweight and current global combat superstar, Cameroon's Francis Ngannou, is the acting chairman of PFL Africa and will also play a pivotal ambassadorial role in further growing the Professional Fighters League on the Motherland and finding and developing the next generation of African champions. | Professional Fighters League PFL Africa's first event has officially been brought forward by one week, with tickets set to go on sale this Thursday, 22 May. Originally scheduled for 26 July, the event will now take place on 19 July at the Grand Arena in GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World, located in Goodwood, Cape Town. In an exclusive interview with Independent Media and MzansiMMA, PFL Africa's General Manager, Elias Schulze, confirmed that South African ticketing platform TicketPro will be the official distributor for the event. 'We like TicketPro's approach, we like their reach, and we believe that they will offer us a viable way to access the right market. We want people to have this access across whatever mechanisms—if it's purely mobile, that's fine. If they need to purchase tickets at selected stores offering the service, such as PostNet or Spar, that's also fine. Let's go where the people are,' said Schulze. Tickets will go on sale at 10:00 am SAST. The arrival of PFL is set to be a major boost for African MMA, as the global mixed martial arts promotion continues to grow in popularity, rivalling even the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The Grand Arena will make history as the first venue in Africa to host a major international MMA event. The night will feature 18 top African athletes entering the SmartCage as they begin their journey to claim the PFL Africa title in a knockout tournament. Headlining PFL Africa's inaugural event will be South Africa's Nkosi Ndebele (8-3), who faces Egypt's rising contender Mahmoud Atef (5-2) in a thrilling Bantamweight semi-final. In the co-main event, Cameroon's Maxwell Djantou Nana (6-1) squares off against Ivory Coast's Mikael Groguhe (6-2) in a battle of heavy-handed finishers. The card will also showcase a special Women's Strawweight bout featuring undefeated Nigerian prospect Juliet Ukah (6-0). Her opponent is to be announced shortly. The PFL Africa Tournament will kick off with eight-man brackets in the Heavyweight and Bantamweight divisions. The full tournament schedule and remaining host cities for the semi-finals and finals will be announced soon. In total, 32 fighters representing 15 African nations will compete across four weight classes in 2025, as the league begins a continent-wide journey to crown the first-ever PFL Africa Champions. The launch event will also set the stage for the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai card, bringing the world's best MMA talent to Africa. Headlining that card will be undefeated Middleweight World Champion Johnny Eblen, who defends his title against Spain's Costello Van Steenis. In the co-main event, Dakota Ditcheva will face Sumiko Inaba in a Women's Flyweight clash. Additional bouts in the Champions Series will be announced in due course. In July 2024, PFL announced the creation of its third international league, PFL Africa, following the success of PFL Europe and PFL MENA. The league aims to showcase African talent on a global platform. Former UFC Heavyweight Champion and current global combat sports icon, Cameroon's Francis Ngannou, serves as the acting chairman of the league and plays a pivotal ambassadorial role, aiming to develop the next generation of African champions. The PFL Africa launch is further supported by strategic broadcast partnerships to ensure wide-reaching distribution across sub-Saharan Africa. For those unable to attend the event in person, all fights will be broadcast live on SuperSport. Coverage will also be available on Canal+, the official broadcaster for French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. To further expand access, PFL has launched a mobile-first platform, distributed in partnership with Content For Mobile (CFM) through leading telecommunications providers. This initiative aims to deliver affordable MMA content directly to fans and reach over 90% of African households. More details on streaming and broadcasting will be shared in the coming weeks.
Newsweek
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
UFC Has a Major Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria Problem
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The UFC is heading for a confusing place regarding International Fight Week. The annual marquee event generally features a huge main event, and many believed that a matchup between current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria would be that matchup. More news: Alex Pereira Threatens Retirement After Receiving 'Disheartened' Update from UFC That was until the events of UFC 315 prompted a response from Makhachev. The dominant champion revealed he would be moving up to middleweight to challenge new champion Jack Della Maddalena, who defeated Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. Following the fight, Makhachev made it a point to go after Della Maddalena, stating in a post on X: "You are not Volk, I will show you different level. Keep my belt clean." Della Maddalena welcomed the challenge, but this presents a problem that the UFC has with the lightweight belt and Topuria moving up. The UFC Problem With Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Islam Makhachev of Russia reacts after his victor by submission over Renato Moicano of Brazil, not pictured, in a lightweight title fight during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome on January... INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Islam Makhachev of Russia reacts after his victor by submission over Renato Moicano of Brazil, not pictured, in a lightweight title fight during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome on January 18, 2025 in Inglewood, California. MoreMore news: Exclusive: Peter Murray Reveals New International Expansion of PFL Africa Makhachev stated plainly that he would not vacate his lightweight title to move up and challenge Della Maddalena. He would instead want to chase becoming a double champ, which is well within his rights due to his dominance in the lightweight division. The usual case for champions who move up is that they are so dominant at their current weight class, they move up for a bigger challenge. Makhachev is the right kind of champion for that. He defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to take the lightweight belt. Following his win, he would face Alexander Volkanovski, who moved up due to dominating the featherweight division. Though it's been argued plenty that Volkanovski won the first fight, he was knocked out in the pair's second meeting. Makhachev would then go on a run, taking down Dustin Poirier and most recently defeating Renato Moicano. This leaves Topuria. The former featherweight champion vacated his title a bit too early. After securing the belt by also taking down Volkanovski, he almost became the first fighter to knock out Max Holloway. Topuria only defended his title once before moving up, which is generally unheard of in the UFC. Topuria moving up was believed to be so that he could face Makhachev for the lightweight title. Many have argued he should not be given a title shot immediately due to his not holding the featherweight belt for that long. The issue is that the UFC has already been delaying the announcement that Topuria and Makhachev would be the main event for International Fight Week. There are only about 40 days between now and when the main event will take place on June 28. That time might not be enough for both fighters to have a good enough camp. It also appears that Makhachev wants to face Della Maddalena for the welterweight title. Should the UFC spurn Topuria and allow Makhachev to face Maddalena, that could impact Topuria in a very major way. Then again, there are plenty of high-level lightweight talent for Topuria to fight to secure his No. 1 contender status. Arman Tsarukyan, Oliveira, or Justin Gaethje would make sense as a contender fight for Topuria. The UFC needs to announce the headliner for International Fight Week, and if it is to be Makhachev vs Topuria, they will need proper time to prepare. Either way, the organization has a major problem on its hands by delaying the Makhachev vs Topuria fight that was assumed to be the main event at International Fight Week. For more on the UFC, head to Newsweek Sports.
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
PFL Africa launches in Cape Town with Inaugural MMA tournament this July
Former UFC Heavyweight king and current PFL Heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is the acting PFL chairman and will play an integral role in building the PFL Africa brand and building its talent Image: BRAVE CF South Africa's Mixed Martial Arts scene will receive a significant boost this year as the Professional Fighters League (PFL) launches the historic and much-anticipated PFL Africa tournament in Cape Town this July. The PFL is one of the biggest MMA brands alongside the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and it will now be the first major organisation to break ground on the continent. The PFL has confirmed that July 26 will mark the official opening of the 2025 PFL Africa Tournament. The show will run in conjunction with the PFL Champions Series in a joint event, which will be rolled out at the GrandWest Casino and Entertainment World's Grand Arena. The PFL Africa 2025 tournament will comprise four events across Africa, featuring 24 top fighters from 14 African countries. The Cape Town leg of the PFL Africa Tournament will showcase athletes in the Heavyweight and Bantamweight divisions. Former BRAVE CF Bantamweight champion Nkosi Ndebele has signed with the Professional Fighters League and will debut at PFL Africa on July 26 at the Grand Arena in Cape Town. Photo: PFL Image: PFL Each division will feature an eight-man bracket, with fighters progressing through semi-finals and finals. Among the fighters on the day will be South Africa's former BRAVE CF Bantamweight champion, Nkosi Ndebele, who will take on Egypt's Mahmoud Atef. Another fan favourite and EFC star, Zimbabwe's unbeaten Simbarashe Hokonya, will battle Morocco's Abderrahman Errachidy in the same division. In the Heavyweight category, South Africa's Justin Clark will face Cameroon's Jashell Ticha Awa, while Senegal's Abdoullah Kane meets Morocco's Mohammad Ben Yahia. Ndebele recently bid farewell to BRAVE CF after becoming the promotion's first 'homegrown' champion. Many were up in arms wondering where he would go next, and it seemed inevitable that he would join one of the major brands. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The debut night of the PFL Africa Tournament will include five major international bouts as part of the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai. The PFL Champions Series features MMA world champions and top PFL stars competing in title fights, with each event culminating in a showdown in Dubai. In the world title main event at the Grand Arena, undefeated middleweight world champion Johnny Eblen will face Spain's Costello van Steenis. The co-main event will see the formidable Dakota Ditcheva go head-to-head with Hawaii's Sumiko Inaba in a world-class Women's Flyweight clash. In July 2024, the PFL announced its third international league — PFL Africa — after PFL Europe and PFL MENA, aiming to showcase African talent on the world stage. Former UFC Heavyweight and current global combat sports superstar, Cameroon's Francis Ngannou, is the acting chairman of the league and will also play a pivotal ambassadorial role in growing the Professional Fighters League on the Mother Continent, as well as in discovering and developing the next generation of African champions. Francis Ngannou. Photo: AFP Image: AFP 'Kicking off the PFL Champions Series in Cape Town alongside the launch of PFL Africa reflects our commitment to grow the sport of MMA throughout the continent, as well as provide pathways for African fighters to compete on a global stage and become champions,' says Peter Murray, CEO of the Professional Fighters League. 'With PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and now PFL Africa launching, PFL's international growth strategy and footprint are unmatched in the sport. This is all made possible by building a great team. I'm proud to partner with Francis Ngannou and Helios Sports & Entertainment Group, and excited to welcome Elias Schulze as GM of PFL Africa.' The full tournament schedule, including future host cities and dates, will be revealed soon. Ticket and broadcast details will also be announced in due course.
Newsweek
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
Alex Pereira Threatens Retirement After Receiving 'Disheartened' Update from UFC
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. There appears to be some issues going on between the UFC and superstar Alex Pereira. "Poatan" took to X to reveal a major issue he is experiencing with the organization, and has even threatened to walk away from the sport completely. More news: Exclusive: Peter Murray Reveals New International Expansion of PFL Africa I always answered the UFC's calls, but if they want to play with me, we can do that. I've never spoken poorly of the UFC but with what I've just heard I'm disheartened. I've already had thoughts of not fighting anymore, and after what was just relayed to me this may be the start. — Alex "Poatan" Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) May 7, 2025 Pereira voiced his concern with the UFC, including teasing a "disheartened" update from his employer. "I always answered the UFC's calls, but if they want to play with me, we can do that. I've never spoken poorly of the UFC but with what I've just heard I'm disheartened. I've already had thoughts of not fighting anymore, and after what was just relayed to me this may be the start," the post reads. This post can mean a number of things, but it might be a bit fair to speculate that Pereira may not be getting the immediate rematch against Magomed Ankalev. The pair faced off against one another at UFC 313 in March, and it led to a unanimous decision for Ankalev. Pereira did not look like his normal self, and it was revealed after the fight that he had been dealing with a broken hand and norovirus. Alex Pereira of Brazil walks to the locker room after being defeated by Magomed Ankalaev of Russia in the Light Heavyweight Title during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena on March 08, 2025 in Las Vegas,... Alex Pereira of Brazil walks to the locker room after being defeated by Magomed Ankalaev of Russia in the Light Heavyweight Title during UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena on March 08, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. MoreMore news: Former Manchester United Star to Make MMA Debut with PFL Regardless, Pereria stepped into the octagon to defend the light heavyweight title for the fourth time, and lost the belt. Pereira is right to be upset if the UFC is not giving him the fight he desires, as he has constantly shown up to take on all challengers. In fact, he fought a staggering four times in 11 months. Pereira won the light heavyweight belt, defeating Jiří Procházka in November 2023. He would then defend the title against Jamahal Hill in April 2024, against Procházka again in June 2024, and then against Khalil Rountree Jr. in October 2024. Pereira also has the honor of being only the third fighter in UFC history that longtime announcer Bruce Buffer has referred to as "the one, the only." The other two are Conor McGregor and Jon Jones, both trailblazers in the sport. Pereira has only been in the UFC for a little over three years, but in that time, he has engaged in seven title fights, which is unreal. Whatever issues the UFC just presented to the MMA star, they might want to figure those out, or the organization will lose one of its most dynamic fighters. Since arriving in the UFC, Pereira's stardom has only risen. Though he had a misstep against Ankalev, the belief would be that he would get an immediate rematch. More details are likely to come out about what has transpired, but Pereira threatening to retire is not a good sign. For more on the UFC and MMA, head to Newsweek Sports.
