The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will hold its first-ever event in South Africa on Saturday, July 19, with a milestone card from the Grand Arena in Cape Town. The event marks the official launch of PFL Africa and will be headlined by a Middleweight World Championship fight.
In the main event, undefeated middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (16-0) puts his title and perfect record on the line against Dutch-Spanish challenger Costello van Steenis (16-3). The fight presents a classic contrast of styles, with Eblen’s world-class wrestling facing van Steenis’s balanced striking and aggressive pressure.
The co-main event will see undefeated flyweight sensation Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) return to face Hawaiian standout Sumiko Inaba (8-1) in a high-stakes divisional matchup. The main card also features several elite global contests, including a featherweight bout between AJ McKee and Akhmed Magomedov, a lightweight fight pitting Artur Zaynukov against Takeshi Izumi, and a heavyweight clash between Corey Anderson and Denis Goltsov.
The event will kick off with the inaugural PFL Africa card, featuring first-round tournament matchups in the bantamweight and heavyweight divisions. This segment establishes the PFL’s third global regional league, following PFL Europe and PFL MENA, and is designed to showcase the next generation of African MMA talent.
For viewers in the United States, the PFL Africa card begins at 10:00 AM EST, streaming exclusively on the PFL App. The main PFL Champions Series card will follow at 2:00 PM EST, live on ESPN+.
Local start time in Cape Town is 4:00 PM for the PFL Africa portion and 8:00 PM for the main card. For international audiences, this corresponds to 2:00 PM GMT and 6:00 PM GMT, respectively.
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