Spain’s Nacho drills Adesina with a quick submission at PFL Africa’s debut in Lagos

●Ocheme wins more fans with a stunning flying knee knockout

The Professional Fighters League made its historic debut in Nigeria on Saturday, bringing PFL Africa to the Eko Convention Center in Lagos for a full night of tournament action and showcase bouts in front of a passionate West African crowd.

PFL Africa will continue its 2026 campaign later this year, as the league heads north for its next landmark event in Morocco on October 10 in Casablanca. The historic card will showcase some of the continent’s top emerging talent alongside established regional standouts, further cementing PFL Africa’s commitment to bringing world-class MMA to fans across Africa.

In the featherweight showcase main event, Wasi “The Nigerian Jaguar” Adeshina squared off with Spain’s Ignacio Nacho Campos in a bout that headlined PFL Africa’s first event on Nigerian soil. Adeshina opened with a quick takedown, but Nacho worked back to his feet, landed a knee in the clinch and finished with a rear-naked choke submission in round 1.

The lightweight tournament co-main event saw Nigeria’s Patrick “Star Boi” Ocheme face Cameroon’s Octave “The Bantu Warrior” Ayinda. The Nigerian Ocheme pivoted with a check-hook and ended the fight with a highlight reel flying knee in the first round.

The card also featured opening-round bantamweight and lightweight tournament bouts, with fighters across both brackets looking to book their places in the next stage. Boule Godogo stopped Dauda Rajabu with ground and pound to punch his ticket to the semifinals of the bantamweight tournament, joining Dwight Joseph, who earned a split decision win.

In an impressive three-round bout, Raphael Uchegbu earned a unanimous 30-27 sweep on the judges’ scorecards. The Algerian-Canadian Karim Henniene stole the show with a quick anaconda choke victory to remain undefeated and move to the next phase of the bantamweight tournament.

Demba Seck captured a dominant decision win against Jean Do Santos to advance to the semifinal round of the lightweight tournament. The high-energy Hussain Al Kurdi will join him after his submission victory over Abderrahman Errachidy. Nigeria’s Cornel Thompson improved to 12 career victories with a decision win to stay in the tournament.