Something was in the air at PFL Africa 2, as two Knockout of the Year contenders took place within the space of three fights.
The Professional Fighters League introduced another regional expansion this year. The promotion’s plan to create the ‘Champions League’ of MMA continued with the inception of PFL Africa, which has joined PFL Europe and PFL MENA. Like its counterparts, PFL Africa is already providing some memorable highlights.
July 18 marked the inaugural PFL Africa event, as the bantamweight and heavyweight brackets commenced at GrandWest Arena in Cape Town. Alongside the regional athletes were a number of big-name stars, with Dakota Ditcheva remaining undefeated in her return and Johnny Eblen getting shockingly choked out by Costello van Steenis in their PFL middleweight title fight.
On August 9, it was down to just the PFL Africa fighters to impress at Big Top Arena in Johannesburg — and boy, did they deliver…
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Dwight Joseph follows tournament rival’s question mark kick KO with insane jumping knee at PFL Africa 2
The PFL already had a Knockout of the Year contender just two fights into Saturday’s lineup. Burkina Faso’s Abdul Razac Sankara brutally slept Shadrick Dju Yemba with a picture-perfect question mark kick just over two minutes into their featherweight quarter-final.
But that KO might have been outdone by one fighter on the other side of the 145-pound bracket.
Though he needed a second round to find the finish, Dwight Joseph rivaled Sankara on the brutality scale when he put Wilker Nsamo out cold with a devastating jumping knee.
The shot instantly left Nsamo unconscious, and Joseph proceeded to push his stricken foe down, leading to a frightening scene as the Angolan fighter slammed into the canvas face-first with his arms awkwardly twisted.
‘Africano’ thankfully returned to his feet, but his journey in the inaugural PFL Africa featherweight tournament is no more. Joseph, meanwhile, significantly boosted his stock. The Liberian professional, who is a former champion under Urijah Faber’s A1 Combat banner, is now 15-2 in MMA.
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Francis Ngannou under fire for no-showing PFL Africa debut
One man missing out on the action in-person is Francis Ngannou.
Among the incentives when Ngannou signed with the PFL were a number of behind-the-scenes roles, including serving as chairman of PFL Africa. With that responsibility in mind, it was a shock not to see ‘The Predator’ present at the regional expansion’s inaugural event in July.
Among those surprised was PFL founder and chairman Donn Davis, who expressed disappointment at Ngannou’s absence.
“You have to ask Francis (why he was not present),” Davis told media at the event (h/t ESPN). “I’m not going to hide it — I expected him (at GrandWest Arena).
“This is part of his vision, so that all those fighters out there don’t have to leave the continent like he did. We worked for two years.
“I’m direct and say what I think — I’m disappointed,” Davis added.
Ngannou’s decision not to attend the July 18 event seems to have damaged relations with the PFL, and not appearing at PFL Africa 2 on Saturday likely won’t have helped.