Maxwell Djantou Nana is the new heavyweight on the scene in the PFL, and he wants to emulate and even exceed his fellow Cameroonian Francis Ngannou.
The hard-hitting heavyweight made his debut under the PFL last summer in Washington DC, blasting out Kent Mafileo within two rounds as Ngannou watched on from cageside. Now, he heralds in the first season of PFL Africa in a first-round clash with Mickael Groguhe on July 19 in South Africa.
Djantou has been a fan of his countryman for years, watching on as he landed vicious knockouts over the likes of Alistair Overeem, Stipe Miocic and most recently Renan Ferreira. Now, he wants to forge his own path as the next generation of Cameroonian star.
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Maxwell Djantou Nana has major aspirations to exceed Francis Ngannou
Maxwell Djantou Nana comes to MMA from a sambo background, where he became a champion before switching to the cage in 2022. He has lofty ambitions, starting with the PFL Africa tournament and culminating in eventually becoming an even bigger name than his countryman Francis Ngannou.
“People really like Francis because he made the dream become reality and he proved to all of the world that anything is possible,” he told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat. “We love Francis in Cameroon, every single person likes him, he’s a good guy.
“It’s going to be a good thing not just for MMA and Cameroon if me and him eventually fight. I stay focused and look forward to every single possibility… I want to thank the PFL so much because they’re going to understand so much how Africa has so much talent.
“We have so many very good fighters in Africa from the young to the older ones. It’s a great opportunity for us to prove to everyone in the world that we have so much fighters… Now, we’re going to have a new face in MMA, not just Francis, we have Maxwell now and every single fight is a good finish.”
PFL Africa debuts in South Africa on July 19
After introducing their World Tournament and launching a successful run of European and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) tournaments, PFL Africa is the next step in the promotion’s quest for world domination.
They will begin this summer before PFL Pacific takes them to Australia and New Zealand next year in their next big showcase. There is also an Asian league in the pipeline for 2026.
The plan is to create a ‘Champions League of MMA’ where winners from around the tournaments come together to compete in the World Tournament.
From there, the World Tournament winners will head to the Champions Series and compete for championships with the champions and stars who have come over from the Bellator merger, as well as their major names like Francis Ngannou and Dakota Ditcheva.