Raphael Uchegbu would not have wished it happened the way it did on Saturday night. It was his first visit to his country of birth, and what a way to announce his arrival to his adoring fans. Uchegbu was expected to face a tough challenge from Edson Machavane in the bantamweight category at the Professional Fighters League’s (PFL) historic debut in Nigeria, but he made victory so simple that fans questioned the Mozambican’s status as one of the best in the world. In an impressive three-round bout, Uchegbu earned a unanimous 30-27 sweep on the judges’ scorecards.
The PFL Africa at the Eko Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, was a full night of tournament action, with 13 bouts in various categories. But what was expected to be the big gig for Nigerians ended in disappointment as fans’ favourite, Wasi Adeshina (Nigerian Jaguar), fighting in the main event, surprisingly lost listlessly to Spain’s Ignacio Nacho Campos in a featherweight class. The bout ended when many of the fans thought that Adeshina was on top following his approach to the fight. But alas, Campos showed that MMA is a technical game that requires more tact than brawn when he defied Adeshina’s grappling, worked back to his feet, landed a knee in the clinch and finished with a rear-naked choke submission in just the first round.
But the co-main event brought joy to the home fans as Benue boy, Patrick Ocheme, nicknamed Starboi, overcame the heavier Octave Ayinda from Cameroon to win their lightweight fight. Also known as the Bantu Warrior, Ocheme pivoted with a check-hook and ended the fight with a highlight reel flying knee in the first round.
Earlier, Zambia’s Shelda Chipito survived an ankle injury to submit Egypt’s Haidy Ahmed with a rear-naked choke to kick off the event. The card also featured opening-round bantamweight and lightweight tournament bouts, with fighters across both brackets looking to book their places in the next stage of the league. Boule Godogo stopped Dauda Rajabu with ground and pound to punch his ticket to the semifinals of the bantamweight tournament, joining Dwight Joseph, who earned a split decision win.
Algerian-Canadian Karim Henniene stole the show with a quick anaconda choke victory over South African Thimna Mhlauli to remain undefeated and move to the next phase of the bantamweight tournament, just as Senegal’s Demba Seck captured a dominant decision win against Jean Do Santos to advance to the semifinal round of the lightweight division. The highly energetic Hussain Al Kurdi will join the next phase of the league after his submission victory over Abderrahman Errachidy, just like Nigeria’s Cornel Thompson, who improved to 12 career victories with a decision win to stay in the tournament.
Another disappointing fight for Nigerians was Juliet Ukah’s loss to Brazil’s Elisandra Ferreira, who ended the Police woman’s challenge with a first career with an armbar submission. Although Ukah contested the referee’s decision to stop the fight when she was down, the officials explained that they had to throw in the towel to avoid any mishap in the caged ring. In the middleweight category, Jordan Fongno of Cameroon broke Nigerian Yahaya Yahuza’s eight-fight win streak with a flurry of punches, leading to a TKO win.
The PFL Africa will continue its 2026 campaign later this year in Morocco on October 10. But for the Nigerian fighters, the Lagos leg provided the opportunity to show their compatriots all that they have been doing in caged rings across the world.
Speaking on his victory in Lagos, Patrick Ocheme said: “One thing I always wanted was to get a flying knockout, and when I missed the weight last year, I knew my comeback needed to be loud. This is the best fight I’ve ever had. I am not surprised about the knockout. My opponent is a warrior, but he’s predictable. I needed to stay calm and provoke him.”
On his first fight in his homeland, Uchegbu said: “It feels unbelievable to come to Africa for the first time, first time in Nigeria, and I couldn’t let the Nigerian fans down. My opponent was tough, but I was determined to win after losing my last fight… I came into this fight with a lot of pressure, but I had the country behind me.”
To PFL Africa General Manager, Elias Shulze, the Lagos leg justified the franchise’s decision to come to Nigeria. He was particularly thrilled by the fans’ engagement at the event, saying that PFL Africa has placed Nigeria in good standing for more investments. Schulze said: “We put fighters’ welfare first. We are fair with pay and safety, getting the best judges, referees and others. I don’t think there is another league that puts fighters first compared to us. Our core value is respect for the fighters, audience, broadcast and others. We don’t have business without the fighters. We organise the biggest fight Africa has seen in terms of cash investment.”
