PFL Africa set for 2025, suggesting a new era for MMA on the continent

PFL Africa is set to launch in 2025, becoming the first of many international leagues eager to tap into Africa’s increasingly professional sports ecosystem. This move promises to elevate the quality of mixed martial arts on the continent and spotlight emerging athletes who could follow in the footsteps of African players excelling on the global stage.

Bonface Orucho, bird story agency

Africa is set to launch its premier mixed martial arts league, PFL Africa, a spinoff of the renowned Professional Fighters League. This marks a monumental leap, elevating Africa’s presence on the global MMA stage.

In a press release dated July 10, PFL announced the launch of PFL Africa in 2025, “which joins PFL Europe and PFL MENA as part of PFL’s network of regional leagues that is becoming the Champions League of MMA.”

“PFL Africa will introduce a thrilling Regular Season, Playoffs and Championship sport-season format featuring top African fighters with all events hosted on the continent,” PFL explained.

Helios Sports & Entertainment Group, a business of the Helios Investment Partners, an Africa-focused investment company, will lead the promotion of the league in Africa with cameroonian MMA fighter Francis Ngannou serving as the league’s chairman.

According to PFL CEO Peter Murray, debuting operations in Africa is motivated by the fact that the continent is home to some of the greatest fighters in the world and some of the most dedicated fans globally.

“PFL Africa aims to serve the great fans with premium content while strengthening the PFL global footprint in what has for too long been an underserved market,” he is quoted in the statement.

Launching in the second quarter of 2025, PFL Africa will feature a sports-season format with individual fighters competing in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. Champions will win US$1 million.

French media giant Canal+ has recently secured multi-year media rights for French-language broadcasting of PFL Africa across multiple regions, excluding North African countries. All PFL Africa matches will be aired on Canal+ with French commentary.

According to the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation, MMA is the fastest-growing sport globally with an estimated following of close to 500 million fans.

In Africa, the sport is also growing fast despite starting off slowly. Only 19 countries have legalised the sport so far including South Africa, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, and Zambia.

Despite slow adoption rates, African players excel in global leagues like the PFL and UFC. The growing African fanbase has spurred international leagues to accelerate plans for expansion, aiming to tap into raw talent capable of emulating existing elite players’ success.

In January, for instance, 30-year-old South African MMA fighter, Dricus Du Plessiss became won the UFC middleweight championship belt in a split victory decision match.

Other legends in the sport include PFL Africa chairperson Francis Ngannou who remains a key figure in the sport. Nigerian fighter, Kamarudeen Usman has in the past won the UFC Welterweight Championships while compatriot Israel Adesanya is a two-time UFC champion.

UFC has been indicating interest to establish a UFC African league, an achievement that could be fueled by the establishment of the PFL Africa.

According to MMA Junkie, a mixed martial arts news platform, UFC vice president of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner sees the league traveling to two Africa and Spain within the next two years.

UFC CEO Dana White has also in the past stated that he will not only bring an event to Africa before he retires, but also build a Performance Institute on the continent.

“I think the next big frontier, I believe, whether it’s 2025 or 2026, will be the continent of Africa,” Ratner told MMA Junkie. “I think you’ll see fights in Johannesburg or Rwanda, something like that. I think that’s out there.”

The grassroot foundation for the sport is already taking off with local clubs and leagues and regional competitions availing tournaments and associations that are developing the sport at the local and regional level.

Ghana’s Wushu Martial Arts Association of Ghana, for instance, has facilitated the development of the sport in the country, producing players that are proving competitive internationally.

Local clubs and leagues in Angola have also largely been the reason for the sport’s growth in the country. Angola debutted at the MMA Amateur World Championship in Serbia in 2023.

The country’s MMA success was at full display at the 2024 African Mixed Martial Arts Championships in Namibia earlier this month, where 161 athletes from across the continent competed in a 4-day event in Windhoek. Angola won 37 medals, 1206 points. South Africa and DRC came in second and third place, with 522 points and 406 points respectively.

“As we have seen there is a great wealth of talent in Africa just waiting to be given a global stage. I am so very proud to give back to my homeland and to provide great content to a region with such a passionate and diverse fanbase,” Francis Ngannou, said referring to the launch of PFL Africa league.

bird story agency