Follow Us on Google
By Joe Apu
Nigeria’s Patrick Ocheme stole the spotlight with a spectacular flying-knee knockout as the Professional Fighters League (PFL) Africa made history with its first-ever event on Nigerian soil at the Eko Convention Center in Lagos on Saturday.
The event featured a mix of tournament contests and showcase bouts, with Nigerian lightweight Patrick “Star Boi” Ocheme emerging as one of the standout performers of the night after producing a spectacular first-round knockout victory over Cameroon’s Octave Ayinda.
Ocheme thrilled home fans by ending the bout in dramatic fashion with a flying knee after setting up the finish with a well-timed check hook, securing his place in the next round of the lightweight tournament.
However, it was a disappointing evening for fellow Nigerian Wasi Adeshina in the featherweight showcase main event.
Nicknamed “The Nigerian Jaguar,” Adeshina started brightly with an early takedown against Spain’s Ignacio Nacho Campos, but Campos recovered, landed a knee in the clinch and secured a rear-naked choke submission victory in the opening round.
The event also featured several opening-round bouts in the bantamweight and lightweight tournaments as fighters battled for semifinal spots.
In the bantamweight division, Boule Godogo advanced after stopping Dauda Rajabu with ground-and-pound in the third round, while Dwight Joseph secured a split-decision victory to move forward. Raphael Uchegbu impressed with a dominant unanimous-decision win over Edson Machavane, and undefeated Karim Henniene of Algeria and Canada maintained his perfect record with a first-round anaconda choke submission.
The lightweight tournament also produced memorable performances. Demba Seck booked his semifinal place with a commanding unanimous-decision victory over Jean Do Santos, while Hussain Al Kurdi advanced following a rear-naked choke submission win against Abderrahman Errachidy. Nigeria’s Cornel Thompson kept his title hopes alive with a unanimous-decision victory over Aureo Cruz.
The showcase fights added further excitement to the card. Brazil’s Elisandra Ferreira handed Nigerian fighter Juliet Ukah the first defeat of her professional career via armbar submission in the second round. Jordan Fongno ended Yahaya Yahuza’s eight-fight winning streak with a second-round technical knockout, while Shelda Chipito overcame an ankle injury to submit Egypt’s Haidy Ahmed in the opening bout of the evening.
Following its successful launch in Nigeria, PFL Africa will continue its inaugural season on October 10 when the promotion heads to Casablanca, Morocco, for another landmark event featuring some of the continent’s leading MMA talents.
The Lagos event marked a significant milestone for mixed martial arts in Africa, reinforcing PFL Africa’s ambition to provide a global platform for the continent’s emerging fighters while bringing world-class MMA competition closer to African fans.
