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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 ๐ง๐ช๐ข ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข #PFLCapeTown ๐๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ Stayed tuned as more fight announcements are on the way! ๐๐ Tickets are on SALE NOW for July 19th ๐ ๐๏ธ #PFLChampionSeries โ 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:
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Beyond the UFC - Coach Javier Mendez highlights the world's second-best undefeated lightweight fighter outside the Octagon
The world of MMA has seen some of the finest fighters who excelled in the sport and were not part of the highly decorated promotion, UFC . One of the most prominent fighters was Fedor Emelianenko, who took the combat sport to a different level without ever joining the promotion. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In a recent episode of Redhawk Recap, coach Javier Mendez talked about one such fighter who probably would never join the UFC and credited him as the second-best lightweight fighter after Islam Makhachev . Coach Javier Mendez points out the reason why veteran fighter Usman Nurmagomedov might never join the UFC Islam Makhachev, the former UFC lightweight champion, recently vacated the title to move up to the welterweight division, intending to challenge the newly crowned welterweight champion, Jack Della Maddalena. This has placed the former featherweight Ilia Topuria against Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317. Topuria instantly predicted his successful lightweight conquest and plans to take his MMA record to 17-0 post- bout. Oliveira, on the other hand, is on a mission to reclaim his title, which was previously lost to Islam Makhachev. While analysing the upcoming events within the UFC, Makhachev's coach, Javier Mendez, talked about the unsung fighters of the sport. The coach was asked about the possibility of one such fighter joining the UFC - Usman Nurmagomedov. The current PFL and former Bellator lightweight champion is the younger brother of Umar Nurmagomedov, the UFC bantamweight fighter and cousin of the former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov . Usman has shown extraordinary skills inside the ring and has taken his undefeated strike record to 19-0. His last win was a title run against Paul Hughes at the PFL Champion Series, Dubai. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now When asked if the fighter would ever be a part of the UFC, Coach Mendez dismissed the idea saying, 'No. Usman, you know, he is with the PFL. And no, there is no talks about it. I mean they are taking good care of him.' He continued, 'But you know at the end of the day, the contracts are up when the contracts are up. So, whoever bids the highest and then if the fighter wants to go, that's where the fighter will go. But the present time, he has got an obligation to the PFL.' JAVIER MENDEZ on ISLAM'S MOVE TO 170 LBS, TOPURIA VS OLIVEIRA, MERAB | Red Hawk Recap Ep. 186 Coach Mendez even went on to tag the fighter as the second best in the lightweight category across the world after Islam Makhachev. 'I happen to think and I have said it on many occasions, I think he is the second-best lightweight in the world.' Usman has maintained the legacy of his family's tradition of the undefeated streak. Khabib retired with a 29-0 pro-MMA record. Usman's brother Umar was also riding on a 17-0 undefeated streak before getting handed his first defeat by Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311.
Newsweek
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Newsweek
Exclusive: Peter Murray Reveals New International Expansion of PFL Africa
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 inaccuraciesโplease refer to the original content. The PFL has been expanding year after year, and with the fight organization in the middle of their new single-elimination tournament format, there is another big expansion on the way. PFL Africa is launching this year, and CEO Peter Murray sat down to discuss the new global launch with Newsweek Sports. "We are going to kick off PFL Africa, the third international league, and we are going to kick that tournament off in Cape Town on July 26 in South Africa at the Grand West Arena. Super excited about it. "Not only are we launching our third international league behind PFL Europe, which is in its third year, and PFL MENA in the Middle East in its second year, but we now launch PFL Africa. And we are actually going to bring the PFL's global stars as a launching pad for PFL Africa," Murray stated. "The PFL Champions Series this year will also kick off in Cape Town, as part of the festivities." PFL CEO Peter Murray and Tope Lawani. PFL CEO Peter Murray and Tope Lawani. PFL Not only is the PFL launching the new PFL Africa, but the popular PFL Champions Series will be part of this new global launch in July, and feature five Champions Series fights on the main card. Two of those fights have been announced, with undefeated middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (16-0) facing off against Costello van Steenis (16-3), and the return of global superstar Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) taking on Sumiko Inaba (8-1) The addition of Eblen and van Steenis, and Ditcheva and Inaba are going to be two world-class bouts, which are set to headline the entire combined PFL Africa and Champions Series event. "We are excited. The PFL Champions Series is a signature franchise for us. It's where the best compete ... we are continuing that momentum and staging PFL Champion Series in world-class destinations." One of the most exciting aspects of this new PFL Africa international league is that longtime and beloved MMA superstar Francis Ngannou is the chairman for this new expansion. Murray also discussed what it's like to partner with Helios as well as add the steep leadership with Ngannou as chairman. "PFL Africa is led by Francis Ngannou, he is our chairman in partnership with Helios ... our strategic partner Helios is a lead investor in NBA Africa." "We also bring leadership with Francis. It's an amazing opportunity. PFL and Francis, he gets to go home to Africa to develop the next generation of great fighters and future champions. You do not have to leave the continent to be supported as a professional athlete and compete." The PFL is also planning on making this launch one of the most visible, with Canal+ ensuring broad coverage across the region. He also revealed that the U.S. will be able to stream the fights, but that announcement will come later. The fight card for PFL Africa so far is as follows: Updated PFL Africa Card: Heavyweight First Round Bout: Maxwell Djantou Nana (6-1) vs. Mickael Groguhe (6-2) Bantamweight First Round Bout: Nkosi Ndebele (8-3) vs. Mahmoud Atef (5-2) Heavyweight First Round Bout: Abdoullah Kane (3-0) vs. Mohammad Ben Yahia (9-4) Bantamweight First Round Bout: Simbarashe Hokonya (5-0) vs. Abderrahman Errachidy (4-1) Updated PFL Champions Series Card: Middleweight World Title Main Event: Johnny Eblen (16-0) vs. Costello van Steenis (16-3) Women's Flyweight Co-Main Event: Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) vs. Sumiko Inaba (8-1) For more MMA, head to Newsweek Sports.
