The PFL’s debut event in Africa was one to forget for this heavyweight prospect.
Amid years of teases from the UFC about a long-awaited arrival on African soil, the Professional Fighters League has broken ground by bringing global MMA action to the continent for the first time. The PFL Africa 1 card is taking place on Saturday July 19, as some of the region’s top prospects look to emerge victorious from the promotion’s latest regional expansion.
Adding to the opportunity is the set of high-profile names set to follow on the Champions Series lineup, as Johnny Eblen fights for the PFL middleweight title and the highly touted Dakota Ditcheva has her first fight of 2025.
One previously undefeated heavyweight looked likely to be among those making the most of their chance to impress. Instead, he left fans confused with one of the worst illegal shots in recent memory.
PFL Africa’s Abdoullah Kane blows undefeated status with wild illegal knee in less than a minute
Four fights into the card at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa, Senegalese behemoth Abdoullah Kane entered the cage as one of the event’s biggest favorites.
The 3-0 heavyweight was widely expected to enjoy a showcase performance against his 7-4 opponent, England’s Joffie Houlton. His -600 betting line proved as much.
And Kane was well on his way to that when he dropped Houlton just after the 30-second mark. What followed, however, shocked everyone.
Instead of swarming his downed opponent with punches, the Senegal native launched a brutal illegal knee to the head of Houlton, prompting the referee to intervene and leaving the Englishman on the floor.
When doctors deemed Houlton unable to continue, Kane was disqualified after just 40 seconds — to the shock of few given the ferocity and deliberate nature of the foul.
Fans slam Abdoullah Kane after he blew sub-minute finish with crazy illegal knee
That result on the PFL Cape Town prelims was unsurprisingly among the biggest talking points, and most shared an expected reaction to that moment of madness from Kane to lose his undefeated status.
“Do we even have rules in the sport anymore? That’s a DQ or nothing is.”
“Kane fumbled a TKO with a single shot that could turn this fight into a DQ.”
“Insane illegal knee at #PFLCapeTown.”
“Bro what is going on with all the illegal stuff on this card? You can’t kick him like that when he’s down.”
“Abdoullah Kane literally has a 35 IQ.”
“You could take three points here if you’re the ref and this continues. 1 for poke, 2 for knee.”
“It’s like they forgot to tell him the rules before the fight.”