One of the best Middleweights in the world, Johnny Eblen, defends his 185-pound Championship against Costello van Steenis in the Main Event of PFL Champions Series Road to Dubai: Cape Town. This event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, at the GrandWest Grand Arena in Cape Town, South Africa. This marks PFL’s official launch in Africa and its first event in the country.
Eblen, 33, holds a perfect 16-0 record with seven finishes in his career. He has five title wins to his name and most recently beat Fabian Edwards in October 2024. The champion is facing van Steenis, who previously knocked out Joao Dantas at the 2024 PFL Mena Championship. Van Steenis has won four of his last five fights. In this Main Event, Eblen is a big -575 favorite while van Steenis is a +425 underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook.
One of PFL’s biggest stars and one of the best women’s flyweights in the world, Dakota Ditcheva, is returning to face Sumiko Inaba in the co-main event of this card. Ditcheva, 26, is 14-0 with 13 finishes in her career and has won her previous six bouts via KO/TKO. She is 9-0 in the PFL with eight knockouts and one submission. Her opponent, Inaba, is 8-1 and is on a two-fight win streak. Ditcheva is the biggest favorite by a wide margin on this card as she is -4000 with Inaba being +1600.
Former Bellator Champion, AJ McKee, is back at 145 pounds and will take on Akhmed Magomedov in a three-round bout. The “Mercenary” is coming off his second career loss against rising star Paul Hughes in October 2024. Before that, the former champion won four straight fights and is 22-2 in his 10-year career. On DraftKings Sportsbook, McKee is the favorite at -230 in this matchup. Magomedov is a talented prospect, having a record of 11-1 with seven finishes. He most recently submitted Nathan Kelly in January.
The PFL Champions Series Road to Dubai: Cape Town Main Card starts at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The PFL Africa card begins at 10:00 a.m. ET on the PFL app. Check out the entire 14-fight card below.
Main Card
Middleweight World Championship Bout
Johnny Eblen vs. Costello van Steenis
Women’s Flyweight Bout
Dakota Ditcheva vs. Sumiko Inaba
Featherweight Bout
AJ McKee vs. Akhmed Magomedov
Lightweight Bout
Artur Zaynukov vs. Takeshi Izumi
Heavyweight Bout
Corey Anderson vs. Denis Goltsov
PFL Africa Card
Bantamweight First Round Bout
Nkosi Ndebele vs. Mahmoud Atef
Heavyweight First Round Bout
Maxwell Djantou Nana vs. Mikael Groguhe
Bantamweight First Round Bout
Shannon Van Tonder vs. Boule Godogo
Heavyweight First Round Bout:
Jashell Ticha Awa vs. Justin Clarke
Bantamweight First Round Bout
Asiashu Tshitamba vs. Karim Henniene
Heavyweight First Round Bout
Abdoulaye Kane vs. Joffie Houlton
Bantamweight First Round Bout
Simbarashe Hokonya vs. Frans Mlambo
Heavyweight First Round Bout
Abraham Bably vs. Paul-Emmanuel Gnaze
Showcase Women’s Strawweight Bout
Juliet Ukah vs. Ceileigh Niedermayr
