{"id":108614,"date":"2025-08-29T17:18:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T17:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october"},"modified":"2025-08-29T18:19:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T18:19:36","slug":"kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october","title":{"rendered":"Kigali to host PFL Africa semi-finals in October"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Kigali is set to make history in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) when the state-of-the-art host the highly anticipated semi-finals of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Africa on October 18.<\/p>\n

It will be the first time a PFL event takes place in East Africa, placing Rwanda on the global map of combat sports. Four high-profile fights will decide who advances to the grand finals in Benin later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a historic moment for PFL and for the sport across Africa,\u201d said PFL CEO John Martin. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to bring the semi-finals to Kigali and showcase Africa\u2019s finest talent on such a big stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The semi-finals bring together fighters from across Africa, each aiming to advance to the finals. The fight card features four explosive bouts across four weight classes.<\/p>\n

In Featherweight Main Event, Nigeria\u2019s Patrick Ocheme (7 wins \u2013 1 loss) will face Burkina Faso\u2019s Abdoul Razak Sankara (7 wins \u2013 4 losses). Ocheme is known for his patient, technical style, while Sankara shocked fans in his last fight in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a dramatic head-kick victory.<\/p>\n

In Bantamweight Co-Main Event, South Africa\u2019s Nkosi Ndebele (9\u20133) will take on Zimbabwe\u2019s Simbarashe \u201cSimba\u201d Hokonya who hasn\u2019t lost in his last six fights (6\u20130). This bout carries extra drama as Hokonya trains with the fighter who last defeated Ndebele, giving this fight a \u201crevenge and redemption\u201d storyline.<\/p>\n

The Welterweight Semifinal will see Angola\u2019s Shido Boris Esperanc\u0327a (10\u20131), who recently won in just 34 seconds, meet Cameroon\u2019s unbeaten Octave \u201cBantu Warrior\u201d Ayinda (7\u20130), who impressed with a first-round stoppage. Both men are fan favourites known for their electrifying celebrations.<\/p>\n

And in Heavyweight Semi-final, Cameroon\u2019s Maxwell Djantou Nana (7\u20131) takes on South Africa\u2019s Justin Clarke (3\u20130). Nana is feared for his knockout power, but Clarke has already eliminated one Cameroonian earlier in the tournament and now aims for another big win.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Kigali is set to make history in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) when the state-of-the-art host the highly anticipated semi-finals of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Africa on October 18. It will be the first time a PFL event takes place in East Africa, placing Rwanda on the global map of combat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":108613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[7883,758],"class_list":["post-108614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-pfl-africa","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nKigali to host PFL Africa semi-finals in October - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kigali is set to make history in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) when the state-of-the-art host the highly anticipated semi ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kigali to host PFL Africa semi-finals in October\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kigali is set to make history in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) when the state-of-the-art host the highly anticipated semi ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-29T17:18:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-29T18:19:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/08\/sm_1756478959.72143.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"567\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Kigali to host PFL Africa semi-finals in October\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-29T17:18:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-29T18:19:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october\"},\"wordCount\":328,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2025\/08\/sm_1756478959.72143.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"PFL Africa\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/kigali-to-host-pfl-africa-semi-finals-in-october\",\"name\":\"Kigali to host PFL Africa semi-finals in October - 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