The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will make its first-ever foray into Africa earlier than originally planned. The league`s debut event on the continent, initially set for July 26, has been advanced by a week to July 19, as announced by the PFL on Tuesday.
The PFL Africa event is scheduled to take place at the GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa. It will actually comprise two distinct fight cards. One part of the event is a PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai show, headlined by a middleweight title defense featuring champion Johnny Eblen against challenger Costello van Steenis.
In the co-main event of the Champions Series portion, undefeated flyweight prospect Dakota Ditcheva is set to face Sumiko Inaba.
The initial part of the doubleheader, officially titled PFL Africa 1, will mark the beginning of the league`s regional tournaments for African fighters, featuring bouts in the heavyweight and bantamweight divisions. The confirmed lineup for this portion is listed below:
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
Notably, this change in schedule places the PFL event in direct competition with UFC 318, which is headlined by a highly anticipated third fight between Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier, billed by some as Poirier`s final career bout.
