The Professional Fighters League (PFL) will launch at Cape Town's GrandWest Arena on July 26, with undefeated middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (USA, 16-0) facing a challenge from Spain's Costello van Steenis (16-3) in the main event.
The co-main event will see British-Bulgarian fighter Dakota Ditcheva (14-0) - who won the PFL Women's Flyweight Tournament in November - up against Hawaii's Sumiko Inaba (8-1). The PFL are set to announce three more Champions Series bouts ahead of fight night.
The launch will see the beginning of the 2025 PFL Africa Tournament. Rising stars from across the continent will compete in the Heavyweight and Bantamweight divisions, each featuring an eight-fighter bracket.
South Africa's Justin Clarke (2-0) will face Cameroon's Jashell Ticha Awa (3-1) in a heavyweight first round clash. In another heavyweight bout that night, Senegal's Abdoullah Kane (3-0) will face Morocco's Mohammad Ben Yahia (9-4).
The host country will also be represented in the bantamweight first round bout between South Africa's Nkosi Ndebele (8-3) and Egypt's Mahmoud Atef (9-4). Elsewhere in the division, Zimbabwe's Simbarashe Hokonya (5-0) will face Morocco's Abderrahman Errachidy (4-1).
PFL Africa - under the stewardship of chairman and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou - is the organisation's third international league after PFL Europe and PFL MENA.
"Kicking off the PFL Champions Series in Cape Town alongside the launch of PFL Africa reflects our commitment to grow the sport of MMA throughout the continent as well as provide pathways for African fighters to compete on a global stage and become champions," said Peter Murray, PFL CEO, as per a PFL press release.
