Nigerian Fighters to Compete in PFL Semi-Finals in Morocco

Nigerian fighters Patrick Ocheme and Raphael Uchegbu will represent Nigeria at the Professional Fighters League Africa semi-finals in Morocco. The event is set for October 10 at the Mohammed V Sports Complex in Casablanca, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.

This event is being called Morocco’s biggest mixed martial arts night ever. Winners from each fight will move on to the PFL Africa Finals later this year. This event is also the first time PFL is holding a match in North Africa. Elias Schulze, the general manager, said that the league is committed to expanding across Africa.

“We’re looking to go to all four corners of the continent,” Schulze said.

Uchegbu, who has an impressive record of 11 wins and 2 losses, will fight unbeaten Algerian-Canadian Karim Henniene, who is 7-0. This match will be the bantamweight co-main event. Henniene is coming off a first-round submission win at PFL Africa: Nigeria in June. On that same card, Uchegbu showed his skills with a strong unanimous decision win.

Ocheme has not lost in nine of his last 10 fights. He impressed everyone in Lagos with a knockout of Cameroon’s Octave Ayinda using a punch and flying knee. He will now go up against fellow Nigerian Cornel Thompson in a lightweight semi-final. This guarantees that a Nigerian will reach the final in that division.

In the heavyweight main event, Senegal’s Abdoulaye Kane, who has won all five of his fights by stoppage, will face Badr Medkouri from Morocco. Medkouri has scored eight knockouts in nine wins.

Other semi-final matches include Angola’s Shido Boris Esperança against South Africa’s Peace Nguphane, Guinea-Bissau’s Rivaldo Pereira versus Nigeria’s David Samuel, Senegal’s Demba Seck against Chad’s Hussain Al Kurdi, and Liberia’s Dwight Joseph against Angola’s Boule Godogo.

The semi-finals include fighters from Algeria, Nigeria, Angola, South Africa, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Chad, Liberia, and Morocco. This lineup shows the wide reach of the PFL Africa tournament format, which has been growing since its debut in Lagos earlier this year.