Watch: SA fighters shine at Professional Fighters League Africa debut

Pretoria Rekordreportsthat the 8 500-seat venue was sold out, and this fact made for an incredible atmosphere for the 11 bout spectacle, presented by the world’s second-largest MMA league. Elias Schulze, the general manager of PFL Africa, made no secret after the tournament that he was extremely impressed with the Sunbet Arena as a suitable venue for this type of sporting spectacle. The first tournament in the 2026 series of PFL Africa, the African leg of the American-based PFL, was hosted in Pretoria for the first time ever, and 22 fighters from 12 different, mostly African, countries were part of the spectacle.

Five South Africans were in action. In one of the fights, two South Africans faced each other, which means that there was a local winner in all the fights in which local participants were involved. In the most sensational fight of the evening, Justin Clarke, who fights out of the world-famous CIT gym in Hatfield, Pretoria, dramatically won his heavyweight duel with Abdoulaye Kane of Senegal with a technical knockout in the first round.

Clarke reached the final of the PLF Africa tournament last year, but was unfortunately defeated in that fight by Abraham Bably of the Ivory Coast. On Saturday, he faced Kane, a giant of 6’5″ and almost 120kg, who has a very good record in MMA. While Clarke is a big man himself, standing 6’3″ tall, it was clear early in the fight that he would struggle against Kane’s reach and weight advantage.

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WHAT A COMEBACK!! 🤯JUSTIN CLARKE KO’S ABDOULAYE KANE OUT OF NOWHERE!!!#PFLPretoria| LIVE NOW on the PFL YouTube Channelpic.twitter.com/mC5YFX4bhc Halfway through the first round, the writing was on the wall for Clarke. He was in trouble, and Kane kept attacking relentlessly.

The big Pretoria fighter had his back against the cage’s wire, and his supporters expected the worst. Then Kane got overeager and lost concentration for a moment. This was the opportunity the desperate Clarke had been waiting for.

With Kane slightly off balance after a ferocious attack, Clark managed to keep his head and attacked with one enormous left hook. It hit Kane on the jaw, and the big Senegalese fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Although Clarke followed up with a few punches while his opponent was lying on the canvas, the referee intervened almost immediately to stop the fight.

It was clear that Kane was unable to defend himself. PRETORIA’S OWN STANDS TALL! 🇿🇦Asiashu Tshitamba gets it done via unanimous decision in front of a home crowd at SunBet Arena.#PFLPretoria| LIVE NOW | SunBet Arena | Live on SuperSport & Canal +pic.twitter.com/VGC1TVnMG3 After the fight, Clarke praised his management for the preparation he had to go through and said that his ability to keep his head in that difficult situation had almost everything to do with how he prepared for it in practice rounds and planning in the gym.

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