Justin Clarke, Nkosi Ndebele thrill crowd at PFL Pretoria

2025 PFL Africa bantamweight champion Nkosi Ndebele shined in his first fight since winning the tournament, beating Italy’s Michele Clemente by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

The hometown hero Nedbele (12-3, 4-0 PFL) headlined Friday’s PFL Africa season opener at the Sunbet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, and he left his countrymen signing with joy. Ndebele was too well-rounded for Clemente (7-2, 0-1 PFL). He outstruck the PFL debutant throughout the first two rounds before dominating his foe from side control throughout the third. Ndebele has emerged as the face of PFL Africa after a string of impressive performances and although he won’t be competing in the bantamweight tournament this season, fans were still excited to see the young prospect take the next step in his career.

Justin Clarke was a dead man. As the giant Senegalese heavyweight Abdoulaye Kane beat him down all along the cage, a cataclysmic knockout seemed inevitable. And it was. Clarke went for broke and landed a Hail Mary left hook into Kane’s jaw just as he was pressing for his own knockout. Kane dropped to the canvas in shock at how fast things got out of hand. Kane (5-2, 2-2 PFL) was officially stopped at the 2:12 mark of the first round, but the crowd couldn’t stop cheering for one of the most unforgettable comebacks in PFL history.

Peace Nguphane picked up a fifth straight win and a victory in his PFL debut after outgrinding Yabna N'Tchala en route to a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). N’Tchala (14-3-1, 3-1  PFL) was considered to be a favorite in the welterweight tournament and took a slim lead after a slow first round. Nguphane (9-3, 1-0 PFL) dug deep and pinned his game plan on the grappling skills and kept N’Tchala on his back, wearing him down with consistent ground-and-pound.

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Shido Boris Esperanca made a statement with a first-round stoppage (3:17) over Emilios Dassi to advance in the welterweight tournament. Esperanca (11-2, 4-1 PFL) put his experience to good use by dumping Dassi on the canvas early with a sneaky trip. After settling into full guard, Esperanca wasted little time clearing his way for full mount. With Dassi (5-3, 1-2 PFL) at his mercy, Esperanca dropped elbows with bad intentions until referee Rich Mitchell was forced to pull him off.

Rivaldo Pereira brought the crowd to its feet with a devastating first-round TKO (2:09) of Kunle Lawal in welterweight action. Pereira (4-2, 1-0 PFL) steadily timed the darting Lawal and caught him blitzing in with a right cross that had the Nigerian stumbling. As Lawal (3-2, 1-1 PFL) tried to clear his head, Pereira put him down for good with a gut-wrenching right hand to the solar plexus.

In a battle of Nigerian strawweights, Juliet Ukah proved to be too sharp on the feet for fellow countrywoman Jane Osigwe. Ukah outslugged Osigwe and made her look silly at times, as she flowed and countered beautifully out of combinations. Ukah (9-0, 3-0 PFL) kept her unbeaten record intact despite a blind ref who unbelievably scored the bout in favor of Osigwe (5-4, 0-1 PFL), who suffered her first loss since 2023.

A world class bantamweight clash headlines PFL Chicago: Tune in LIVE, Saturday, April 11 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Nigerian welterweight David Samuel put a well-rounded beatdown on Abdelrahman Mohamed. The undefeated PFL debutant exploded in the SmartCage and overwhelmed Mohamed from the onslaught. After dropping Mohamed (4-1, 0-1 PFL) with a thudding right hand, Samuel allowed him to rise to his feet before dropping him again with a stiff jab. As Mohmaed realized he was out of his depth, Samuel (4-0, 1-0) capped off his dominant performance with a rear-naked choke with 57 seconds remaining in the first round.

Aureo Cruz’s and Abdoul Razac Sankara’s lightweight tilt was ruled a no-contest after Cruz was accidentally poked in his eye midway through the second round. Neither fighter had separated themself, but Cruz (3-0) hoped to pick up the pace. As the Angolan dipped into a punch, Sankara’s finger accidentally scraped his eye. Cruz called for time and was unable to continue, causing referee Ferdinand Basson to call the bout.

Shadrick Dju Yemba escaped with a razor-thin split decision win over Jean-Jacques Lubaya in featherweight action (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). Yemba (6-1, 1-1 PFL) was knocked out in the first round of the PFL Africa tournament last season, and things weren’t looking great early against Lubaya (9-3, 0-2 PFL). Yemba dropped the first round, but fought his way back into the fight as Lubaya’s pace began to slow. Yemba found a lot of success with his jab and picked away at Lubaya’s guard in spurts, handing the Congolese slugger his third-straight loss.

After dropping a split decision in his PFL Africa debut last season, Asiashu Tshitamba made life easy on the judges with a three-round striking masterclass over Shannon Van Tonder (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Tshitamba (7-5, 1-1 PFL) used his range and picked Van Tonder apart like a chuck roast, catching him with jabs, crosses, and sneaky hooks to the body. Van Tonder had no answers for the test Tshitamba presented and was forced to take his lesson.

Felista Mugo pulled out a hard-fought unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26) over Uganda’s Annet Kiiza in a 117-pound catchweight bout. Don’t let the scorecards fool you; this fight was competitive throughout. Mugo (5-1-1, 1-0 PFL) was quickly pulled into a firefight as Kiiza’s striking was fast and ferocious. But the Kenyan found her success on the ground. Despite Kiiza’s attempt to reverse position, Mugo kept her hips heavy and spent most of the fight in control. As the fight wore on, Kiiza’s (3-2, 0-1 PFL) strength and speed waned as Mugo dragged her into deep waters.