The Professional Fighters League (PFL) announced Monday that its historic PFL Champions Series Road to Dubai: Cape Town event will stream live from South Africa on Saturday, July 19, with coverage split between ESPN+ and the PFL App for fans in the United States.
The event, hosted at Grand Arena, GrandWest in Cape Town, marks a major milestone for MMA as the official launch of PFL Africa, the PFL’s third international league and the sport’s first major debut on the continent.
“The debut of PFL Africa marks a historic milestone in the global evolution of mixed martial arts,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “We’re proud to deliver this groundbreaking event to fans worldwide, and to showcase the PFL Champions Series live in the U.S. on ESPN+. Fans in the U.S. can catch all the action from PFL Africa exclusively on the PFL App.”
PFL Africa action begins at 10:00 a.m. EST on the PFL App, featuring First Round matchups in the Heavyweight and Bantamweight tournaments.
At 2:00 p.m. EST, ESPN+ will stream five high-stakes Champions Series bouts, headlined by a Middleweight World Title fight between undefeated champion Johnny Eblen (16-0) and Spain’s Costello van Steenis (16-3).
In the co-main event, undefeated women’s Flyweight contender Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) faces Sumiko Inaba (8-1) of Hawaii. Other featured bouts include former Bellator Featherweight Champion AJ McKee (22-2) vs. Akhmed Magomedov (11-1), Light Heavyweight Champion Corey Anderson (18-6) moving up to battle PFL Heavyweight Champion Denis Goltsov (36-8), and Artur Zaynukov (16-4) facing Takeshi Izumi (6-3) in a Lightweight matchup.
PFL Champions Series Road to Dubai: Cape Town — ESPN+ (U.S.)
Saturday, July 19 — 2:00 p.m. EST
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Middleweight World Championship: Johnny Eblen (16-0) vs. Costello van Steenis (16-3)
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Women’s Flyweight Co-Main Event: Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) vs. Sumiko Inaba (8-1)
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Featherweight Showcase: AJ McKee (22-2) vs. Akhmed Magomedov (11-1)
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Lightweight Showcase: Artur Zaynukov (16-4) vs. Takeshi Izumi (6-3)
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Heavyweight Showcase: Corey Anderson (18-6) vs. Denis Goltsov (36-8)
PFL Africa — PFL App (U.S.)
Saturday, July 19 — 10:00 a.m. EST
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Bantamweight: Nkosi Ndebele (8-3) vs. Mahmoud Atef (5-2)
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Heavyweight: Maxwell Djantou Nana (6-1) vs. Mikael Groguhe (6-2)
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Bantamweight: Shannon Van Tonder (7-2) vs. Boule Godogo (3-0)
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Heavyweight: Jashell Ticha Awa (3-1) vs. Justin Clarke (2-0)
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Bantamweight: Asiashu Tshitamba (6-4) vs. Karim Henniene (4-0)
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Heavyweight: Abdoulaye Kane (3-0) vs. Joffie Houlton (7-4)
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Bantamweight: Simbarashe Hokonya (5-0) vs. Frans Mlambo (15-6)
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Heavyweight: Abraham Bably (5-2) vs. Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze (8-5)
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Women’s Strawweight Showcase: Juliet Ukah (6-0) vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr (3-2)
The full fight card marks a significant chapter in MMA history as PFL continues its global expansion and elevates international talent through the PFL Africa platform.
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