PFL Africa is heading to Casablanca on October 10 with its tournament fields down to the final four in three divisions. The card at Mohammed V Sports Complex will feature six semifinal fights, plus a heavyweight main event between Senegal’s Abdoulaye Kane and Morocco’s Badr “Dastan” Medkouri. The winners of the tournament bouts move on to the PFL Africa Finals later this year.
PFL Africa Morocco Bouts Announced
Kane arrives with a 5-2 record and a finish in each of his five victories: four knockouts and one submission. Medkouri, 9-3, will have home support in Casablanca and carries eight knockout wins into the matchup. It is a heavyweight fight outside the semifinal brackets, but it gives the Morocco show a local headliner with a clear Senegal-versus-Morocco angle.
The co-main event puts unbeaten Karim “The Kryptonian” Henniene against Raphael Uchegbu in a bantamweight semifinal. Algeria-born, Canada-based Henniene is 7-0 and booked his place with an anaconda choke of South Africa’s Thimna Mhlauli in the opening round in Lagos. The submission came at 2:23 of the first round.
Uchegbu, a Nigerian fighter with an 11-2 record, advanced on that same June 13 card with a unanimous-decision win over Edson Machavane. All three judges scored it 30-27. Henniene brings the unbeaten record and quick submission win; Uchegbu enters after banking three composed rounds.
The other bantamweight semifinal opens the main card, with Liberia’s Dwight Joseph facing Angola’s Boule Godogo. Joseph brings a 16-3 record, while Godogo is 5-2. Godogo reached this stage by stopping Dauda Rajabu with ground-and-pound late in the third round during the Nigeria event.
At welterweight, Angola’s Shido Boris Esperança, 12-2, meets South Africa’s Peace Nguphane, 9-3. The division’s second semifinal pairs Guinea-Bissau’s Rivaldo Pereira, 4-2, with unbeaten Nigerian David Samuel, 6-0. Samuel has the clean record, while Pereira has a chance to give Guinea-Bissau a finalist in the first PFL Africa tournament season.
Lightweight provides an all-Nigerian semifinal when Patrick Ocheme meets Cornel Thompson. Ocheme, 9-1, advanced in Lagos with one of the night’s quicker highlights, flattening Octave Ayinda with a flying knee at 3:17 of Round 1. Thompson, 12-3, took a different route, winning a three-round decision over Aureo Cruz by three 29-28 scorecards.
Senegal’s Demba Seck, 11-3, faces Chad’s unbeaten Hussain Al Kurdi, 3-0, in the other lightweight semifinal. Seck earned a 30-27 sweep against Jean Do Santos in June, while Al Kurdi submitted Abderrahman Errachidy with a rear-naked choke in the second round.
Heavyweight Main Event: Abdoulaye Kane (5-2) vs. Badr Medkouri (9-3)
Bantamweight Semifinal Co-Main Event: Karim Henniene (7-0) vs. Raphael Uchegbu (11-2)
Welterweight Semifinal: Shido Boris Esperança (12-2) vs. Peace Nguphane (9-3)
Lightweight Semifinal: Patrick Ocheme (9-1) vs. Cornel Thompson (12-3)
Welterweight Semifinal: Rivaldo Pereira (4-2) vs. David Samuel (6-0)
Lightweight Semifinal: Demba Seck (11-3) vs. Hussain Al Kurdi (3-0)
Bantamweight Semifinal: Dwight Joseph (16-3) vs. Boule Godogo (5-2)
Morocco is PFL Africa‘s first stop in North Africa after its June event in Lagos. The semifinal lineup includes fighters representing Algeria, Angola, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, giving Casablanca a card with plenty of flags in play and finals places on the line.
