Professional Fighters League Launches Africa League

...MMA Superstar Francis Ngannou Named PFL Africa Chairman

The Professional Fighters League (PFL), known for its rapid growth and innovation in sports, has unveiled PFL Africa, the first premium Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) league spotlighting top African athletes. The new league will feature a complete sport-season format with Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship events across the African continent.

MMA superstar Francis Ngannou has been named Chairman of PFL Africa, and Helios Sports & Entertainment Group has invested in this groundbreaking venture, acquiring a stake in the promotion. PFL Africa, part of the PFL's expanding network of regional leagues including PFL Europe and PFL MENA, is set to launch in the second quarter of 2025, available on linear, digital, and mobile platforms.

“The Professional Fighters League is excited to announce PFL Africa, the third international fight franchise as we continue on our path to becoming the Champions League of MMA,” said PFL CEO Peter Murray. “Africa is home to some of the greatest fighters in the world, including our league Chairman Francis Ngannou, and some of the greatest fans in the sport. PFL Africa aims to serve the great fans with premium content while strengthening the PFL global footprint in what has for too long been an underserved market. Alongside our great investment and broadcast partners we cannot wait to kick off PFL Africa league action in 2025.” 

“I am excited and honohonouredred to serve as Chairman of PFL Africa, a league that will shape the very foundation of African MMA,” said Francis Ngannou, Chairman of PFL Africa. “As we have seen there is a great wealth of talent in Africa just waiting to be given a global stage. I am so very proud to give back to my homeland and to provide great content to a region with such a passionate and diverse fanbase.”

“African talent has had disproportionate success on the global MMA stage and MMA currently has a scarcity of events despite significant demand, creating a huge opportunity for growth as young Africans consume more digital content on their devices,” commented Tope Lawani, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners. “We are looking forward to partnering with the PFL, a world class organization, and with Francis Ngannou, who is a manifestation of the success of African talent on a global stage. HSEG is a committed partner of choice for global blue-chip sports and entertainment properties in Africa such as the PFL. This marks our fourth investment following our successful partnership with the NBA in the NBA Africa, our investment in global entertainment company The Malachite Group with a portfolio that includes Afro Nation and Piano People and our investment in Zaria Group, a multi-purpose venue management business. We see several areas of direct synergies between PFL Africa and HSEG’s existing unique portfolio and we are excited by the opportunities such collaboration can bring to the continent.”

PFL is the only organization in MMA with the sports-season format, where individual fighters compete in a Regular Season, Playoffs, and Championship each year. The combined roster of PFL and Bellator boasts 30% of its fighters independently world-ranked in the top 25 of their respective weight-class. PFL has an expansive global vision for the sport and is building the “Champions League of MMA” with PFL Europe, PFL MENA, and more international leagues in development. PFL leads in technology and innovation, with its proprietary PFL SmartCage, powering fight analytics, real-time betting, AI scoring, and a next-generation viewing experience. PFL is available on ESPN/ESPN+ in the U.S., DAZN in Canada and Europe and broadcast and streamed in 160 countries with 20 premium media distribution partners.