LAGOS: The Professional Fighters League announced the launch of PFL Africa, which joins PFL Europe and PFL MENA as part of a network of regional leagues with the aim of creating a “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.
In a groundbreaking partnership, Helios Sports and Entertainment Group has made an investment and will hold a stake in the promotion, of which MMA superstar Francis Ngannou will serve as chairman. The newest PFL regional league will launch in the second quarter of 2025 across linear, digital and mobile platforms.
“The Professional Fighters League is excited to announce PFL Africa, the third international fight franchise as we continue on our path to becoming the Champions League of MMA,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray.
“Africa is home to some of the greatest fighters in the world, including our league Chairman Francis Ngannou, and some of the greatest fans in the sport. 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. Alongside our great investment and broadcast partners, we cannot wait to kick off PFL Africa league action in 2025.”
Ngannou said: “I am excited and honored to serve as chairman of PFL Africa, a league that will shape the very foundation of African MMA. 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.”
Tope Lawani, co-founder and managing partner of Helios Investment Partners, commented: “African talent has had disproportionate success on the global MMA stage, and MMA currently has a scarcity of events despite significant demand, creating a huge opportunity for growth as young Africans consume more digital content on their devices.
“We are looking forward to partnering with the PFL, a world-class organization, and with Francis Ngannou, who is a manifestation of the success of African talent on a global stage. HSEG is a committed partner of choice for global blue-chip sports and entertainment properties in Africa such as the PFL.
“This marks our fourth investment following our successful partnership with ... NBA Africa, our investment in global entertainment company The Malachite Group with a portfolio that includes Afro Nation and Piano People, and our investment in Zaria Group, a multi-purpose venue management business. We see several areas of direct synergies between PFL Africa and HSEG’s existing unique portfolio and we are excited by the opportunities such collaboration can bring to the continent.”
PFL is the only organization in MMA with a sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a regular season, playoffs, and championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30 percent of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight class. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport, with more international leagues in development. It leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, artificial intelligence scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience. PFL is available on ESPN/ESPN+ in the US, DAZN in Canada and Europe, and is broadcast and streamed in 160 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.
