PFL Africa 1 was deemed as a historic event for African MMA with an individual involved in ARES 1 disputing the claims of the Professional Fighters League. The X account @PFLMMA tweeted out a message to their fanbase on the same day as their big foray into the African market which stated,
"History was made today! The first global MMA event in Africa did not disappoint The night that was #PFLCapeTown 🇿🇦"
Alan Murphy, who works with Glory Kickboxing and previously did matchmaking as well as marketing for KSW, was involved in the inaugural ARES card and wanted to clarify some things from his vantage point. Retweeting the initial message from the official PFL account, Murphy quipped,
"Have to challenge this claim. I was part of ARES 1 in Dakar, Senegal in 2019, to a global audience on UFC FIGHT PASS, across France & Africa on Canal, + YouTube. The event featured the debut of Reug Reug, Nassourdine Imavov, Taylor Lapilus, Mairon Santos, Josh Parisian & others."
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PFL Africa 1, ARES 1, and the big happenings from both cards
PFL Africa 1 transpired over the weekend from GrandWest Arena in Cape Town, South Africa with multiple notable happenings from that July 19th event. Costello Van Steenis secured a breathtaking come from behind submission finish of Johnny Eblen to secure the PFL middleweight crown in the night's headliner. In the co-main event, Dakota Ditcheva engaged in a comprehensive masterclass striking performance against Sumiko Inaba en route to a unanimous decision win.
ARES 1 emanated from Esplanade du Musé des Civilisations Noires in Dakar, Senegal on December 14th, 2019 and was an electric offering in it's own right. Nassourdine Imavov competed that night and would secure a ground and pound stoppage over Jonathan Meunier in the waning seconds of the first frame of that fight.
Reug Reug AKA Oumar Kane made his professional MMA debut that night and did so against someone with far more mixed martial arts experience in Sofiane Boukichou. In what many have described as one of the most impressive MMA debuts in history with several icnredible slams throught, Reug Reug would secure the TKO victory in the second stanza to go up 1-0 in his pro MMA career.
