Double Standards at PFL Africa 3

PFL Africa 3: Rwanda was the third African mixed martial arts event produced by the Professional Fighters League (PFL) which took place this past weekend (October 18, 2025) at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

Saying that it was an historic event is an understatement for a raft of reasons;

1) Location: Rwanda

It was the first event ouside of South Africa – where the first two PFL Africa events took place.

2) Appearance: Fancis Ngannou

It was also the very first appearance of the much publicised PFL Africa President, Francis Ngannou, at a PFL Africa event. For someone who fought so hard for this, his absence at the first two events was extraordinary with PFL Chairman, Don Davis, admitting his ‘disappointment’.

Ngannou later commented that his absence at PFL Africa 1 was because he “wasn’t very okay with the first PFL Africa event seeming to be like an undercard,” and so he had nothing against South Africa or that he had other more important things to attend back in July. Was it the same reason for his absence at PFL Africa 2? Either way, his presence was duly noted and so too was his silence following the two previous events.

3) Double Standards

Missing weight has become a regular talking point in MMA of late, not just because it is unprofessional but because it can sometimes result in missed opportunity, as we have recently seen in the EFC and as was on display at PFL Africa 3.

With four of the 22 fighters missing weight – Henniene, Adeshina, Ocheme and Sankara – one would think little of that fact or the fact that it represents almost 20% of the fight card. But here’s where it all becomes muddy…..

Of the four fighters that missed weight, three of them were in the Featherweight Semi-finals. To make matters worse, the entire main event – Ocheme vs Sankara – missed weight!  Yes, you read that correctly. Sankara missed weight by 5lbs, while Ocheme missed weight by a whopping 10,2lbs! The result of this lack of professionalism saw both fighters removed from the Semi-finals (replaced by Camara vs Majorique), the bout rescheduled as a catchweight bout and then downgraded from the main event of PFL Africa 3, to opening the main card.

So here is where the double standards kick in. In the other Featherweight Semi-final bout, Wasi Adeshina also missed weight (by 2lbs) and that fight was given the green light. Adeshina was also not barred from winning a spot in the finals if he were to win – which he ultimately did by UD.

Why the double standard? Why were some fighters dealt with more harshly than others? Surely missing weight in a Grand Prix style tournament is tantamount to missing weight in a title fight and should then be dealt with accordingly………well, not at the PFL.  Even the official PFL website (www.pflmma.com) ignored this weigh-in controversy, choosing to post only one article on the matter: https://pflmma.com/news/complete-weighin-results-for-the-2025-pfl-africa-semifinals

Conroversy aside, the opportunity to book a spot in the Featherweight Finals was gratefully seized by Alain Majorique who defeated Mohamed Camara by UD, and will now face Wasi Adeshina and compete for the $100,000 prize along with PFL Featherweight strap.

Other finalists decided include:

• Heavyweight: Clarke vs Bably
• Welterweight: Esperenca vs N’tchala
• Bantamweight: Ndebele vs Henienne

PFL Africa 3: Results

Main Card:

Bantamweight: Ndebele def. Hokonya via SD

Welterweight: Esperanca def. Octave via 1^st Rnd TKO 

Heavyweight: Clarke def. Djantou Nana via 3rc Rnd verbal submission

Catchweight: Ocheme def. Sankara via SD

Heavyweight: Bably def. Houlton via 1^st Rnd TKO

Preliminary Card:

Bantamweight: Henniene def. Godogo via 3^rd Rnd KO

Welterweight: N’tchala def. Dassi via UD

Featherweight: Adeshina def. Joseph via UD

Featherweight: Omeda def. Opio via UD (fight scored on “totality” after 28-28 unanimous draw scoring)

Heavyweight: Kane def. Mukam via 1^st Rnd KO 

Featherweight: Majorique def. Camara via UD